Distant Serenity
by xxdeegurlxx
Summary: Sequel to Dreamt of Paradise. One year after Sam jumped in the pit, Natalie has managed to lead as much of a normal life as she possibly could. But, she learns that Sam is alive and there is something off about him. He's soulless. Now Natalie and Dean have to get his soul back and deal with the repercussions that come with it.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I'M BACK! And with me I bring you all the next installment in my series. I'm really excited about the turnout for this story and I hope you all are too! The flashbacks will be italicized. Without further a do, let's get on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

The comforting and peaceful silence was interrupted by a sharp ringing coming from a cell phone, resting on a nightstand. A hand reached up, searching for the phone, missing it a couple times by a few inches, when it finally found it and shut off the alarm. Natalie moved onto her stomach, allowing her eyes to rest for a few more seconds, wanting to stay in bed for just a moment longer. Footsteps down the hall told Natalie that Marina was already up, getting ready to go to work, which meant she needed to get up as well.

Groaning, Natalie pushed herself up and let out a long yawn. Pulling the covers away from her body, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. After her legs adjusted to being used, Natalie shuffled walked towards the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, she quickly undressed and stepped in, closing the shower curtain. Natalie stood under the shower head, her hand leaning against the wall in front of her, allowing the hot water to stream down her body. Her muscles began to relax and her eyes closed, allowing herself to soak in the relaxation even more. Her right hand slowly moved down to her side, where her fingers began to gently brushed over the scar that had been left after she was shot. Apparently when Castiel healed her, he didn't heal all of her. Soon, she felt herself begin to slip back into sleep, her head slowly hanging down.

_The grip on her jacket was strong as she was yanked up to her feet and pushed against the car. Her body was ablaze with a protesting burning that traveled throughout her entire body. Her eyes focused on the face that she was so used to seeing adorned with kindness and understanding for every little situation. Now it had been replaced by coldness and a chilling emptiness, no emotion was readable from what she saw. _

_His hand reached down and slowly pulled out the knife that she had tucked in her belt line and held it to her face. Panic was all she felt as she tried to push him away from her. The pain came so quickly. It was a hot, white, blinding pain that shot through her. He pulled out the knife and stabbed her again, this time, she made no attempt to hold back her screams. The pain had become so unbearable that the thought of holding back anything, didn't prove to be a good choice to her. Looking up into those cold eyes, Natalie could feel her world crashing around her. "Sam." _

Natalie's eyes shot open, coinciding with a sharp gasp. The hot water still running down her back, she wondered how long she had been like that for. Most likely only a few minutes, but it felt like hours to her. Her eyes felt itchy and swollen, telling her that she had been crying. Natalie shook her head and proceeded with washing her hair.

Showers, nowadays, have become nothing more than just something that Natalie needed to do. She got through them mindlessly, since she would always be whisked away into her clouded thoughts, which consisted of only two things. The Apocalypse and Sam. That is all she would think about. Every second of everyday was spent on that. She never moved on from it.

Though, Clara and Marina would say to her that she has gotten much better and it was the truth. Natalie was much better off compared to how she was only a month after the events of last year. Natalie was still slowly merging herself on the path of moving on. But the thing is, it all still hurt. She still grieved over Sam. Mourned the fact that they never had the chance to really be together and it killed Natalie. The effect that it had on Natalie, surprised her, especially when it effected her personality.

Only a month after Sam jumped, there was a drastic change in her behavior. Horrible mood swings and violent tantrums were almost a daily occurence with her. Her capability to handle the pain and grief, proved to actually be to much for her. Bobby had been called to come out several times, in an attempt to calm her, but it would only be a temporary relief.

At one point, Clara was tempted to contact Dean, but Natalie told her not to. _"Dean, is living his own life. Leave him alone." _Natalie would tell her, he was dealing with it in his own way and bringing him into Natalie's own grief would only prove to be a huge burden on him. All of her buried feelings that dealt with her father, mother, brother and now Sam, were all mushing together and she was facing them all at once. But, she was going to face them alone.

Natalie turned off the shower and opened the curtains, grabbing the towel from the rack, she wrapped it around her body and stepped out of the shower. Opening the bathroom door, she walked out into her room, pulled her clothes from the dresser and set them down on her bed. Removing the towel from her body, she covered it over her hair and began to pat it dry a couple of times. Throwing the towel on the bed, she quickly got dressed and walked back into the bathroom, picked up a comb and brushed it through her hair a couple of times.

Once she was satisfied, Natalie walked out of the bathroom and towards her bedroom door and opened it. Marina had already been making her way towards the room and stopped. "Hey. So I tried feeding her, but she wouldn't take anything from me. I'm sure she will from you." Marina said, fixing her shirt.

Natalie gave her sister a small smile. "Don't worry Mari. I've got it under control. I've done this, how many times now?"

Marina nodded. "Right." Marina stepped forward and gave Natalie a quick, but, tight hug. "Thank you, Nad."

"You don't need to thank me, Mari." Natalie said, pulling away from the hug.

"I know, but still, I need to." Marina kissed her sister on the forehead. "I'll see you after work, love you!" She called out as she ran down the stairs and rushed out the front door.

Natalie stood in the hallway a second longer then walked down a little bit and turned to a closed door, her hand reached down and turned the handle. Upon opening the door, Natalie was greeted by the all to familiar cream colored walls that gleamed from the sunlight that streamed through the windows. Small shelves decorated several spaces on the walls. On these shelves were quite a few different things. A lot of pictures that had been taken at various points during the year, while another had a few small stuffed animals sitting on them.

On the left side of the room there was a decent sized white dresser and next to it was a changing table that was the same color as the dresser. And towards the back center of the room, near the windows, was a white crib with a mesh lining and a pale yellow sheet covered the small mattress. Inside this crib a small baby, no more than six months old, was resting on it's back, waiting for someone to pick them up.

Natalie walked over to the crib and peered down, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Hey, Emily." Natalie said as she reached down and gently picked up the six month old. She held Emily close to her chest, balancing the baby on her hip. "Let's go downstairs and get you some food."

Natalie walked out of the room and carefully made her way down the steps, mildly distracted by Emily placing her hand on various parts of Natalie's face, which was only met by Natalie's small laughs.

Once they reached the kitchen, Natalie set Emily down in her high chair and popped the table on then tied on Emily's bib. Grabbing a cutting board and knife, Natalie took a banana and peeled off the skin, then proceeded to cut up the fruit in tiny chunks, then placed them in a small bowl. She walked over to the high chair and set the bowl down in front of Emily, who then happily began to eat the pieces of fruit.

Her phone began to go off and she pulled it out of her pocket, while pulling up a chair and sitting in front of Emily. Turning on her phone, she saw an incoming phone call from Suzie. Natalie answered and put the phone against her ear.

"Hey, Suzie."

"_Nad. What are you doing today?" _

Natalie picked up a piece of banana and fed it to Emily. "Well, the usual. Watching Emy, why?"

"_Well, I'm off for today, and I thought that you and I should meet up." _

Natalie let out a sigh. "Suzie, I'm watching Emy and I don't know, I don't really feel like going out today."

"_Oh come on, Nad. You spend so much time cooped up in that house, you need to get out more." _

Natalie laughed as she fed Emily another piece of fruit. "Oh, do I now?"

"_Yes, you do. You can bring Emily with you to. Please, Nad?" _

Natalie hung her head back and let out another sigh. "Okay, fine. Where do you wanna meet?"

"_How about we just meet at the park? Twenty minutes? Then we'll figure out what to do next." _

"Okay, sounds great. I'll meet you there." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. She turned her attention back towards Emily as she fed her the last few pieces of fruit. "How do you feel about going to the park?" Natalie asked as Emily gave her a smile. Natalie stood and loosened the chair's table and lifted Emily out. "Let's get you ready then."

* * *

Natalie sat on the park bench, gently rocking the stroller with her foot since Emily fell asleep right as they arrived. Though she had to admit, she was glad that she agreed to meet Suzie here. Getting out of the house was something that Natalie knew she needed, but never had the motivation to actually do it. Natalie looked down at the stroller, seeing Emily slowly waking up. She bent down and unhooked the belt and lifted her out of the stroller. She stood Emily up on her lap, as she leaned her hands against Natalie's shoulders to support herself.

"You're getting so big, you know that?" Natalie said, though it was more to herself than to Emily. "It seems like only yesterday that you were born. I remember Aunt Clara and I were out of town...and I got the call from your daddy saying that your mommy was going to have you. We both came here as fast as we could. And when I first saw you...you were the cutest little thing I had ever seen."

Emily seemed to understand what Natalie was saying as a huge smile appeared and she began to bounce up and down. Natalie moved her hands to hold her around the waist to keep her from losing her balance.

"You've helped me so much, Emy. I don't think you'll ever know, how much." Natalie kissed Emily's forehead.

"Hey!" Natalie looked over at Suzie, who was standing next to them. She leaned down and smiled at Emily. "Look at you!" Holding her arms out, Natalie gently handed Emily to her and she balanced Emily on her hip. "You are so big compared to the last time I saw you."

Suzie sat down next to Natalie, settling Emily into her lap. "So, how have you been, Nad?"

Natalie gave her a look and smiled. "Fine."

Suzie gave her a doubtful look. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Because from what I've known is that the past year hasn't really been kind to you."

Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "That's an understatement."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened? I mean it's something that I've only heard your sister and Aunt mention briefly."

"Suzie...it's not really something that I like to talk about and it's...a little hard to understand."

Suzie shrugged, adjusting Emily in her lap. "It's fine. I mean I don't want to push you to talk about it...but, if you ever want to, you know I'm here."

Natalie looked at Suzie, giving her a small smile. "I know, and I really appreciate it. You never know. Someday I might actually want to sit down and talk about it."

"Well, you know where I'll be. So, when are you going get to a break from watching this little girl?" Suzie said, gazing down at the baby in her lap.

"I don't mind looking after her. But, tonight Mari and Ethan are taking Emily to visit his parents. They're gonna stay there for a little bit."

"That's good. Gives you some time to be alone. So I thought that I would buy you lunch and then maybe we could go shopping. I could buy this little girl a couple of things."

Natalie laughed. "Don't go and spoil her Suzie."

Suzie looked at Natalie, pretending to be offended. "I would never Nad." She turned and carefully handed Emily back to Natalie and stood from the bench. "Let's get going." Suzie turned around, making her way back to her car.

Natalie stood up and placed Emily back in the stroller, and as she bent down to strap her in, she felt like someone was watching them and out of the corner of her eye she spotted someone standing a little bit away from them. Natalie's body went tense at the thought that someone was watching them, but she decided to make it seem like she was phased. Natalie proceeded to buckle the straps around Emily and stood back up. Her head slowly turned to her right, in the direction in which she saw someone, but found that no one was there. Her brows furrow, thinking that she was beginning to lose her mind once again.

"It's nothing." Natalie whispered to herself. She walked around to the back of the stroller and braced her hands on the handlebar. She pushed the stroller and began to make her way back towards her car, when she slowed down and looked back at the spot, still seeing nothing. Even though she wasn't satisfied, Natalie turned back around and continued on down the sidewalk, determined to not let this distract her.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set and back at the house, Marina was gathering everything she needed for the stay at Ethan's parent's house. Natalie walked down the stairs, a baby bag in hand, and held it up to her sister. "I think you're going to need this."

Marina looked up at her sister and sighed in a tired relief. "Thanks." Marina took the bag and placed it down with the others. "Good thing Ethan was in town to take us there. I don't think I have the energy to drive myself up there."

"That's why I'm glad you're going up there. Just relax, okay?"

Marina gave Natalie a look and braced her hands on Natalie's shoulders. "Nad. Are you sure that you're going to be alright? By yourself at least?"

Natalie gave her sister a nod. "I'll be fine, Mari." Natalie saw the skeptical look in her sisters eyes. "Mari, I'm serious. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. You've done enough of that for the past year."

"I had every right to be worried, Nad. I never want to see you like that ever again. It was painful for me because I knew there was nothing I could do."

Natalie nodded solemnly, knowing that this past year, Natalie wasn't the only one who had to deal with it. Marina and Clara had to deal with it as well and Natalie's behavior didn't make it any better.

"You and Aunt Clara did what you could. And I am grateful that you two were always there for me." Natalie sighed and gave Marina a forced smile. "But, everything is fine now. I'll be fine. Go and have a good time with Emy and Ethan."

The front door opened and Ethan poked his head in, halting the sister's conversation. "Hey, am I interrupting something?"

Natalie looked over at him, giving a smile and shook her head. "Nope. I think they both are ready to go."

Ethan walked in and grabbed the bags and headed back out to the car. Marina turned around and picked up the car seat in which Emily was fully asleep. Natalie walked over and leaned down, gently kissing the baby's forehead.

"You three be safe." Natalie said as she pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Take care of yourself, until I get back." Marina said as she pulled away and kissed Natalie on the forehead.

"I will. Now go." Natalie ushered her sister out the front door and stood under the doorway, watching as Marina strapped in Emily's car seat and then got into the car. Natalie gave them a smile and one final wave as Ethan drove away from the house.

Natalie's smile immediately dropped as she turned around and walked back into the house. She took out her phone and turned it on, reading the message that her Aunt had sent her.

_Omaha. 2 hours. Meet me outside of Mike's Bar and Grill._

* * *

**How did you all like the first chapter?! I've had this chapter drafted for some time now, I just needed to edit some of it. If I've planned it out right, the next chapter should be when she reunites with Sam and Dean. Hope you all are excited for that! Don't forget to drop me a review! OH! And what are you opinions on 'Aunt' Nad? Let me know! Xx**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all and I hope that you all had a great Fourth of July! Just to clear up the timeline, I am having Natalie reunite with Sam and Dean about a week after the events of episode 4. So when she gets back in with Sam and Dean it will pick up with episode 5. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Natalie parked her car on the curb of the street and spotted her Aunt, on the opposite side, leaning against her car. Natalie turned off the engine and got out of the car, walking across the street, she silently hoped that she had something for her to do.

"Hey, Nad." Clara finally spoke, once she had reached her.

Natalie gave her Aunt a small nod. "Hi, Aunt Clara." Natalie could see the heaviness in her Aunt's eyes and she felt really bad for her, since she knew that Clara had been working almost nonstop on trying to find their demon. "When was the last time you got a decent sleep?"

Clara laughed. "It's been a while. But, I'm fine. How are Mari and Emily?"

"They are good." Natalie said, smiling at the thought of her little niece. "Ethan picked them up a few hours ago and took them up to his parents' house. They're going to stay up there for a few days."

"Good. It gives Mari a chance to rest." Clara said.

Natalie nodded. "So, this news that you have for me. Does it have to deal with our demon or just a case?"

"It's not about the demon for once. I know that the past few months have dealt with us tracking down other demons, trying to get it's location. But, this time...I found a case here in Omaha."

Natalie raised her brows and pursed her lips. "Okay. What is it?"

"Ten missing people's reports. All happening within a three week period. I just got here a couple of days ago, and I was able to piece together a few things."

"Okay, so what do you think is causing all of this?"

"My answer...a ghoul."

Natalie sighed. "Like we haven't encountered those before. Alright, what do we do now?"

"Well, I was able to track down a cemetery that is an ideal place for them to live. A huge mausoleum lies in the middle of the place...my guess, that's where they are hiding."

"Okay, Ghouls. Chop off the head and were done with them. You want to lead the way to the cemetery? Then I'll follow."

Clara nodded. "Nad. Are you alright?"

Natalie furrowed her brows and nodded. "I'm as alright as I'll ever be. The sooner I get to kill these sons of bitches, the better I'll be."

"I just want to make sure that you're head is in a clear space. I don't want you going in when your mind is elsewhere. I know that I haven't been home for a couple of months...how are you really Nad?"

Natalie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not fine and yet I'm not horrible. I really don't know anymore Aunt Clara. I'd like to think that I am getting better...but, I really don't know. I think I've allowed my emotions take over for so long, now I just feel numb. Going on hunts, killing these things, is the only time I can feel myself feel anything."

"And that's scares me, Nad. I just don't want you getting dependent on killing things mindlessly just to make yourself feel better. That's not the nature of the job." Clara said.

"You were the one who thought it would be a good idea to let me go on hunts in the first place." Natalie added.

"I was desperate to help you Nad. That first month was absolute hell. Not just for you, but for Mari and myself. I needed to find something for you to do to let go of all of that anger you had bottled up inside."

"Yeah, and you gave me that opportunity. Going on hunts this entire year, has helped me a lot."

"It's just I don't want you treating this like it's some kind of sport."

"I'm fine Aunt Clara. Besides, when we go on these hunts, I think about..." Natalie stopped, forcing herself to avert from mentioning Sam. "Thinking about everything that happened, it really helps me. I can release all of my anger. Hunting has become therapeutic...I can't help that, I'm sorry. So, please, can we go? That way we can get this done quicker."

Clara stared at her niece, silently regretting asking her to come out here. The past year, she had seen Natalie efficiently complete hunts, but the viciousness in them, concerned her deeply. And now, looking at Natalie, she could tell it was going to be the same thing tonight. "Yeah. Okay, let's go."

* * *

Clara opened the trunk of her car and pulled out two machetes, handing one over to Natalie. Natalie quickly checked over her gun and slid it back in her belt line. Picking up the machete she turned to look at Clara. "Are you ready?"

Clara gave her a small smile, picking up her weapon. "You don't need to ask me that."

Clara and Natalie swiftly make their way up the pathway towards the mausoleum. Reaching the entrance, Clara pushed open the heavy iron door, shining her flashlight it, she slowly walked in allowing Natalie trail closely behind her.

They were immediately met with a flight of stairs and they followed the steps down into the building. The stairs then split up into two directions. Clara motioned for Natalie to take the left and she would take the right. Natalie gave her Aunt a small nod, adjusting her hold on the machete, she brought her flashlight up and slowly walked on.

Natalie continued down the hall, making sure to be as quiet as she could. Every few seconds, a few noises would attract her attention, but they would turn out to be nothing. On the right hand side of the hall, she saw someone walking out from a room. She quickly pressed herself against the wall, hidden behind a small wall. She leaned forward slightly, her head peeking out, she saw one of the ghouls walking down the hall.

Natalie tightened her grip on the machete and stepped out from behind the wall and followed him. Once she got close enough, both her hands gripped onto the handle as she raised up the weapon. The ghoul stopped at hearing one of Natalie's footsteps and turned around to face her. She quickly swing the weapon, cutting off it's head in one clean swipe.

Natalie let out a huff as she watched the body slump to the knees and fall to the side. Gazing down at the body, she kicked at the ghoul's leg. "Feel better already." Natalie said to herself.

From down the hall, Natalie could hear a commotion ensuing. She held the machete close to her and jogged down the hall until she came to an entryway to a huge tomb room. Over in the corner, she could see three more ghouls fighting with two people, but, she couldn't see who they were. Though, that didn't matter to her. She needed to kill the ghouls before they killed anyone else.

One of the ghouls spotted her and Natalie met his gaze. She raised the weapon up and gave the ghoul a smile. "Come and get it."

Natalie walked fully into the room, as the ghoul eyed her, she gave him another cheeky smile. The ghoul charged after her and she tightened her hold on the machete and raised it up, embedding the blade into the side of the ghoul's neck. Blood streamed out of the wound and down the ghoul's body. Natalie yanked the weapon out and made another swing, slicing the head off.

The sound of the body falling caught the attention of the two other ghouls, making them drop their holds on the people they were attacking. Natalie looked up at them and rested her foot on top of the severed head. "Oh. I just killed your friend, didn't I? You don't like that, do you?" Natalie taunted as she kicked the head away.

The remaining ghouls didn't hesitate as they ran after her, completely abandoning their previous victims. Natalie lifted her machete up and swung at one of the ghouls, cutting at its chest and dodged his attempt to grab her. Natalie faced the other ghoul only to have it grab her arms and slam her up against the wall.

Natalie made sure to keep the firm grip she had on her machete and brought her knee up, kicking the ghoul in the groin several times and pushed the creature away and quickly sliced off it's head. The remaining ghoul attacked Natalie, tackling her to the ground. The machete flew from her hand and rested just a few inches from her.

The ghoul hovered over her, throwing a few punches across her face. Natalie could feel her head throb from the punches and pressed her forearm against the ghoul's throat, keeping it at bay as it tried to bite her. Natalie looked to her side and reached her arm out, trying to grab the machete. She reached her arm out farther, finally grasping the handle and stuck the blade against the side of the ghouls neck.

The weight of the ghoul on her lightened and Natalie pushed the creature off of her and pulled the machete from it's neck. She brought it up and slammed it down on the creature's face, repeatedly. The sound of flesh tearing the bone cracking was all that could be heard in the room.

Natalie continued the vicious attack, feeling blood splattering her face.

"Nad!"

Natalie came to a stop, her chest heaving with all of her adrenaline and looked up, seeing her Aunt staring at her, a look of horror filled her eyes. She gave her Aunt a small nod, telling her that she was fine, and wiped the ghoul's blood away from her face. But, she could feel blood dripping from her nose and her lip, which had been busted from the ghoul throwing punches at her.

"Nad?"

The familiarity of that voice caused Natalie's body to almost freeze. She slowly stumbled to her feet and turned around, seeing something that almost made her heart stop. It was Dean and..."Sam?" Her brows furrowed as Sam looked at her and she felt like she was literally going to pass out.

Sam and Dean both look at each other, trying to ready themselves to explain this to her. "Hey, Nad." Sam finally said.

Natalie stumbled backwards, right into her Aunt, who braced her hands on her shoulders. "What the hell is going on?" Natalie asked, looking from Dean to Sam.

Dean slowly stepped forward, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "Nad. Listen, there is...quite a bit that you don't know."

"What the hell is this?!" Natalie asked again, her voice rising in volume.

Sam was the one who stepped closer. "It's me, Nad."

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes widening the longer she looked at him. "No. No. It can't be...I-I saw you jump...you jumped into the pit...how can you—'

"I know. But, it's me, I swear." Sam said, his voice laced with a forced reassurance.

Dean could see that Natalie wasn't processing the news as best as he thought she would and moved closer towards her. "Nad. Trust me. I did the whole routine with him. Holy water, salt, iron. It's him."

Natalie looked at Dean and then to Sam, when her brows creased with confusion. She pointed at both of them. "Wait a minute. You and Sam were on a hunt?"

Dean nodded.

"So..." Natalie paused, making sure that her conclusion was correct. "You-you knew that Sam was alive?" Natalie could see Dean's face fall and a hint of guilt washed over him. She stepped forward to him. "You knew that Sam was alive?!"

"Nad, please, just listen—'

"You knew?! How long?!" Natalie called out.

Dean remained quiet for a moment and looked back up at Natalie. "A few weeks, maybe a little longer."

Natalie's eyes widened in disbelief, looking over at Sam, she could see him nodding at Dean's words, telling her that he was telling the truth. Natalie looked back at Dean, feeling her anger beginning to boil. She stepped forward and pressed her hands against his chest, shoving him a couple of times.

Dean stared at Natalie, surprised, as she continued to shove him. But, he didn't do anything to stop her, knowing that this was probably what he deserved.

"Are you kidding me?! You son of a bitch!" Natalie yelled as she gave Dean another few shoves.

Clara rushed over and grabbed Natalie, pulling her away from Dean, who had done little to defend himself. "Nad! Calm down!" Clara yelled out.

"You knew for weeks!? And you didn't even tell me!" Natalie barked, trying to get herself out of her Aunt's hold.

"Nad!" Dean began, trying to calm her. "Nad, listen to me, okay? I know. I didn't tell you and I know that you are pissed."

"Pissed?!" Natalie repeated, letting out a pained laugh as her eyes filled with tears. "Pissed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now, Dean!"

Sam stepped in between Dean and Natalie. "Alright. Enough. Nad you just need to calm down. Clearly, the three of us need to talk about this...but, not here."

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes wide. "Calm down?! You're telling me to calm down! You have a lot of nerve for saying that to me right now."

Sam paused for a moment and then sighed. "Just let us explain."

"Who else knew?" Natalie asked, ignoring Sam's words for the time being.

"Bobby." Sam said after a brief pause.

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. "B-Bobby...knew." Natalie closed her eyes and allowed her head to hang. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nad. How about this? Let's meet up at Bobby's and we will talk about this. There is a lot that you need to know." Sam said once again.

Natalie pulled herself out of Clara's grasp and buried her face in her hands. She just found out that Sam was alive, Dean knew about it and now she is hearing that Bobby knew and never tried to tell her. All of this was to much, but she needed to get answers. She wanted to know the full truth.

Looking back up at the brothers she gave them a defeated look. "Fine. I think it's time that you all tell me the truth."

Clara walked over to her distressed niece, pulling her aside. "Nad. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Why not?" Natalie asked, looking up at her. "They have been keeping this from me. I want to know why they never even bothered to tell me."

Clara saw the pain and anger in Natalie's eyes and she wanted to do something to try and ease it. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Natalie quickly shook her head. "No. This is between the four of us. I want to do this alone."

* * *

**This chapter was short I know, but the next chapter I am almost done with so I will hopefully get it up by tomorrow, but can't make any promises. Just to clear it all up yes Sam is soulless. I know that some people wanted to see Natalie reunite with Sam when he has his soul, but I wanted Natalie to interact with Soulless Sam, because it will make for a small strain in their relationship once he gets it back. So I hope no one is upset about that.**

**How did you all think about Nad's reaction? Do you think it was a little over the top? ****Let me know! Xx**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I got this chapter done quicker than I thought I would, so I am giving it to you all now instead of making you wait. Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Natalie got out of her car, seeing Sam and Dean waiting over on the porch of Bobby's house. She stood near her car, thinking whether it was a good idea for her to do this, but she needed to get all of this cleared up. Sighing, she closed the car door, sliding her hands in her jacket pockets and walked up to the porch.

Dean raised his fist and knocked a couple of times. A brief moment of silence followed before the door was finally opened and Bobby was staring at the three of them. The minute his eyes landed on Natalie, his expression turned grim.

"Hey, Nad." Bobby finally said.

Natalie had to admit that it was nice to see Bobby again, but, her head was too full of confusion and anger to make this a pleasant meeting. "We obviously need to talk."

Bobby nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. We do." He stepped away from the door. "Well...come on in."

Sam and Dean walk in, though Natalie hesitated for a moment, still thinking whether all of this was actually real. Sam was alive. That was something she wanted more than anything, but, knowing what she found out back at the cemetery, she didn't know how to feel about it anymore.

Natalie pulled herself from her thoughts, seeing Bobby giving her a small hesitant smile, she took a deep breath and walked into the house. As she walked through the kitchen and into the living room, Natalie began to think about everything that took place here. Thinking about it, made it feel like it happened so long ago.

Bobby walked past Natalie and sat down at his desk chair, as Dean leaned on one of the tables and Sam sat down on the couch. All three of them were looking at Natalie, expecting her to go on some sort of rant.

Natalie could sense this as she looked at each of them. _Time to get this started. _Natalie folded her arms over her chest as she looked over at Bobby. "Bobby. Sam said that you knew he was alive." Bobby gave Natalie a small nod. "How long have you known?"

Bobby sigh, hanging his head back for a moment. "Nad, listen, I just—'

"Answer the question, Bobby." Natalie interrupted, her tone already being laced with her anger.

"I knew all year."

Natalie's brows creased at Bobby's words. "All year?" She repeated, looking over at Sam. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that...you have been back...the entire year?!"

Sam sighed and cleared his throat. "Yes."

Natalie was a little surprised at Sam's lack of emotion while he said it. Usually, she was able to read how he was feeling, but now, she was getting nothing. "So you've been back this entire time, and you never even thought to pop on in and say 'oh hey, I'm not dead'!"

"Nad, listen. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get sucked back into all of this. You were living your life. You finally had the normal life that you deserved—the life that you wanted—and If I had shown up on your doorstep...I would have ruined it."

Natalie shook her head in disbelief. "I only lived this life because I promised you. You made me promise that I would go back to my Aunt and my sister. That's the only reason I did this. And I would have thought after you and I...we...I just thought you would have told me that you were back."

"I know. But, I knew that you were where you needed to be. You didn't need me, Nad. And I wasn't going to waltz right in and just take away your chance to live your life." Sam added.

"You don't get it Sam. I didn't want to lose you, but, I had to let you say yes to Lucifer. When you jumped...my entire world came apart." Natalie stared at Sam, still seeing from his expression, that he didn't seemed phased by what she was saying. He seemed so distant from her and Natalie didn't like it. "The small time that you and I had together...did it not mean anything to you?"

Sam sighed, giving Natalie a light look. "Of course it did, Nad."

"Obviously, not enough to tell me the truth." Natalie bit down on her lip, not really believing Sam's words and looked over at Dean. "You said that you only knew he was alive for maybe longer than a few weeks."

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Sam and Bobby kept us both in the dark for the entire year."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that _you _knew Sam was alive and the fact that you two have been hunting together. Did it ever occur to either of you that maybe you should have told me? Or were you planning on keeping me out of it?"

"Nad. I wanted to tell you, but, Sam and I talked about it. We didn't want you to get screwed over again. You had already been through to much, we thought that...we should just leave you alone."

Natalie scoffed at Dean's reasoning. "You may not like the explanation, but, it's the truth." Dean said.

Natalie ran a hand through her hair, already feeling her head growing heavy with an oncoming headache. "And what about you, Bobby?" She asked, looking over at him. "What's your excuse?"

"Nad. I didn't want to lie to you, but, you were out. No more going on hunts or almost getting yourself killed, which almost happened a few times. I never wanted this for you in the first place. And I was beyond happy that you were taking the chance to go home and live your life. Away from the hunting. It's all I wanted for you."

Natalie stared at Bobby, before slowly descending into a fit of laughter, but, the pain and anger could be felt by the three hunters. "You know something. I don't buy your explanations. You were the ones who told me in the first place that once I got in...I could never get out. Yes, I was able to live somewhat of a normal life, but I was never _out_. There was no way that I could ever walk away from this! So what was the damn point of this!"

Bobby stood from his chair and walked over in front of his desk and leaned against it. "Nad, I know that it hasn't been an easy year. But, you have to understand that I—we—did this for you. As horrible as it may sound to you, I just wanted you to be safe, Nad. To not have to put your life on the line anymore."

Natalie allowed Bobby's words to sink in and began to take in deep breaths, already feeling her eyes brimming with tears. "Bobby...do you have any...idea, what this has done to me? Of course you do. Barely a month after you jumped into the pit." Natalie said to Sam. "Aunt Clara called Bobby out to her house because I was completely unstable. I was having horrible tantrums...violent ones. To the point that Mari had to leave for a while."

She looked back over at Bobby. "You saw...you saw Bobby! You saw what it was doing to me and you knew that Sam was alive. You sat there and watched me breakdown, knowing the truth...and you said nothing." The tears finally broke free and began to stream down her cheeks. "How could you do that to me...the three of you. How could you keep something like this from me?!"

Silence was all that Natalie got in response. Dean and Bobby were both being eaten away by their regret and guilt. Bobby had the most. He kept this secret from Dean and Natalie, the only two people other than himself, who loved Sam more than anything. But, Natalie was kept in the dark the longest.

"Nad." Sam's voice finally pierced the silence. "You may not like what we did...we didn't want you to walk away only to get back into hunting."

Natalie huffed. "Well, sorry to burst your bubbles guys, but I have been hunting."

Bobby and Dean's eyes widened in shock, though Sam's face remained unchanged. "What do you mean you have been hunting?" Dean asked.

Natalie gave them almost a triumphant look. "Because of my tantrums...Aunt Clara thought that I needed to find a way to let out my anger. So...she and I started hunting our demon together. In-between looking for it, she would find jobs and have me take care of them. The entire year...that's what I've been doing. That's what I was doing at the mausoleum last night. So your little plan to keep me out of it...well it was useless."

"Why, Nad?" Bobby asked, his face written in guilt and confusion.

"Maybe if you had told me Sam was alive from the start...I wouldn't be going on hunts. I wouldn't be as messed up as I am now. So you three thought that keeping this a secret was helping me...but, in reality, it didn't do any good."

Bobby, Dean and Sam all remained silent. Not knowing exactly what to say to her. They knew there was nothing they could say to make up for their actions. Natalie looked at the three of them, waiting for an answer, but received none. Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "Okay, then." She said and turned around to leave when Dean's voice stopped her.

"Nad. Where are you going?"

She paused and turned back to look at the three of them. "I'm going home. I can't do this, okay? I can't deal with the three of you right now. But, hey!" Natalie raised her arms up, giving them a forced smile. "Thanks for finally telling me the truth."

Natalie turned on her heels and walked out of the house. She didn't give them one last glance or one last word. She just wanted to get the hell out of there. She was confused and hurt more than anything. Yes, she was pissed that they kept this from her, but, she was hurt even more. They should know better than that. After everything they went through the past year, she thought that the four of them were on the same page. Though, she and Dean were in somewhat of the same boat. Dean was kept in the dark for the entire year just like she was. But, that didn't change the fact that he still knew Sam was alive, regardless for how long, and he kept it from her.

If anything, all Natalie wanted to do now was go home and crawl into bed. She wanted to sleep all of this off even though when she would wake up, all of her pain and anger would come right back again. She had just began to fully move on from it all and there was no doubt that this would set her back.

* * *

Natalie opened the door and slid in and leaned against the door, shutting it with her body. Clara, who was in the kitchen, walked out and saw Natalie's tear stained face.

"Nad? What happened?" Clara asked.

Natalie shook her head slowly. "They all lied to me Aunt Clara."

Clara took a few steps closer. "What do you mean?"

"Sam had been alive...for the entire year...and Bobby knew about it. Bobby and Sam kept it from both Dean and I."

Clara's mouth fell agape at Natalie's words. She couldn't believe that Bobby would do that to her, especially, when he had visited Natalie and he knew the truth. "Nad...I'm so sorry."

Natalie looked at Clara, her looking hardening. "Did you know?"

Clara blinked in shock at Natalie's words. "What?"

Natalie pushed herself away from the door, leaning closer to her Aunt. "Did you know that Sam was alive?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Don't. Lie to me." Natalie said, her voice dripping with accusation and her eyes began to sting at the new round of tears.

"I'm not lying to you. Nad, If I knew that Sam was alive I would have told you. You believe me don't you?"

Natalie huffed and blinked away her tears. "I don't know what to believe anymore! I just found out that Sam was alive for a whole year and to top it all off, Bobby kept it from me and so did Dean. Sorry that I'm having a little trouble believing certain things." Natalie walked over to the couch and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

Clara sighed and walked over, sitting down next to her niece. "Let me guess, their explanations were that, they didn't want you getting back into hunting and they didn't want to take away your chance on having a real life, is that what they said?"

Natalie leaned back up, looking over at Clara. "Yeah. But, there was no point to it. I've been hunting this entire year."

"Yeah, but, Nad you have to see it from their perspective. Bobby especially. He promised your father that he would look after you, he never wanted you to get into this life, neither did your father. And when Bobby finally saw an opportunity for you to have a normal life, he was going to protect that more than anything...even if it meant keeping the fact that Sam was alive."

Natalie scoffed and wiped at her eyes to rid of the tears. "It's just that Bobby saw what it was doing to me...and he didn't say anything. He sat there, knowing how far off the deep end I was going and he didn't stop it. And don't even get me started on Sam, I mean after he and I...I just thought that he would have come back to me. But, clearly, I thought wrong."

"Nad, listen. No doubt you have been through a lot, not just with everything that happened this past year, but with your dad, mom and brother, and yet you always bounce back. And this, even though it hurts, you're gonna get through it. It's just another obstacle that you have to get through. And, who knows, maybe soon you'll be back out on the road with Sam and Dean, going on hunts."

"I don't think that's going to happen, Aunt Clara. I'm just so pissed about all of this...I don't think I'll be able to really forget it." Natalie confessed.

"I think that you will, Nad. It may take some time, but, I think that you, Dean and Sam will get back on the same path you were on before." Clara assured.

Natalie gave her Aunt a forced smile and stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go to sleep. I just need to rest...after the day I've had." Natalie walked over to the stairs and took them two at a time and made her way down the hallway towards her room. She hoped that getting some rest will help clear her head from all of this.

But, Natalie couldn't stop thinking about Sam during all of this. From the moment she saw him at the mausoleum, he seemed reserved and distant. During the talk back at Bobby's, Sam didn't seemed phased by any of it. He didn't seem to feel guilty for keeping away from her for an entire year. And the more Natalie thought about it, the more it bothered her. Though, how could she blame him? He did jump into the pit, he was in hell for a period of time, she didn't know what was going on in his head. Maybe this was just a repercussion from being in the pit and no doubt that being in his position, your attitude and personality would change.

Natalie decided to push the thought away for now and walked into her room. Walking over to her bed, Natalie took off her jacket and tossed it onto the ground and slipped out of her jeans. Settling herself into her bed, Natalie thought back to Clara's words, about how she would forgive all of this. And Natalie only silently hoped that she was right. Now that Sam was back, Natalie thought that maybe things could go back to how they were before. But, it was all up to Natalie and if she was willing to push this behind her.

* * *

**How did you all like it? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! For this episode I'm going to do it just a tiny bit different, mostly just small differences. Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural except for my OC's_

* * *

Time. That was all Natalie needed. She needed to be able to fully absorb what she had learned. Sam being alive was the biggest surprise. Then to add in the fact that Dean, Bobby and Sam, kept that from her, was a different story. Being at Aunt Clara's home, didn't seem to be making a big difference to her. Natalie called Marina, telling her that she needed to see her, wanting her clear her head of a few things and Marina told Natalie to come up to Ethan's parents home, which Natalie hesitantly accepted. Natalie didn't tell Marina the exact details of what happened, since she herself, could barely process all of it.

Though, Natalie was actually glad that she accepted Marina's request. Ethan's parents lived up in Illinois on a patch of land that was isolated from everything else and to Natalie that sounded like paradise.

Staying here, Natalie lost track of time. A few days quickly turned into a week and then two weeks. then to three weeks She didn't feel right being here, thinking that she was intruding on Ethan and his family, even though he and his parents always reassured her that she was more than welcomed to their home.

Marina walked out onto the back patio, with Emily on her arms, seeing Natalie lounging on one of the chairs. Marina walked over and tapped her on the shoulder, before gently putting Emily into Natalie's lap.

Natalie sat up and took hold of Emily, adjusting her in her lap. Marina took a seat next to her sister, resting her hands in her lap, and stared at Natalie expectantly. "So...are you gonna tell me, what happened?"

Natalie sighed, keeping her attention on Emily for as long as she could.

"Nad." Marina tried again, this time her tone taking on an edgy sound. "It's been over three weeks now. You never told me over the phone what happened...and I've given you time. I would like to know what upset you so much."

Natalie looked over at her sister, sighing in relent. "It's about Sam."

Marina furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"The day you and Ethan left...Aunt Clara found a job up in Omaha...told me to meet her there. There was a case about missing people and she knew that it was ghouls. So, as usual, we went to find them and after I got done killing the beasts...Dean and Sam were there."

Marina stared at her sister, her eyes narrowing slightly, making sure that she heard her sister right. "Wait...Dean was there, that I believe...but, Sam? How can he..."

"Sam has been alive this entire year, Mari." Natalie said, interrupting her sister.

Marina's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sam has been back this entire year. And to top it all off...Bobby knew. For the whole year, he and Sam kept it a secret from both Dean and I...until I saw them at Omaha. By then, Dean had been hunting with Sam for weeks...and he didn't even bother to tell me either."

Marina remained silent, allowing her sister's words to slowly sink in and all she could feel was anger. "How the hell could they do that to you?!"

Natalie shook her head. "Trust me, I thought the same thing. But, I will say...being here, being able to clear my head and think it over...I think I can start to see their reasoning...but, still..."

"It hurts." Marina finished. "Well, I can say that I am now pissed at them...especially, Bobby. I mean after you and Sam were practically together...how is Sam?" Marina suddenly asked.

"I-I really don't know Mari. I mean, it's Sam, but, he just seems so...distant. Really reserved, he seems very stoic as well. He just doesn't seem like himself. I mean I can't blame him...he was in hell. That is enough to change anybody, right?" Natalie asked, still unsure about how she felt about Sam now.

"Well, what do you think? You think you and him can go back to how it was before?" Marina asked.

Natalie huffed out a laugh, adjusting Emily once she began to fuss. "I don't know. I mean we didn't really get the chance to actually have a conversation. We met up at Bobby's and we talked about it...then I left. I haven't talked to either of them since."

"But, you want to, right? Get back with Sam."

"Of course I do." Natalie affirmed without hesitation. "We barely had any time, before...I should have told him earlier than I did."

"Don't go and start beating yourself up over it, Nad. Now, I'm pretty sure that whatever Sam went through down there, he's gonna need all the support he can get. He's got Bobby, Dean...and now he needs you."

Natalie allowed her gaze to fall, focusing her attention back on Emily, wanting to take a moment to think over Marina's words. Marina pursed her lips as she looked down at Natalie's phone on the porch next to her chair, seeing an incoming call from Dean.

"Hey. Dean's calling you." Marina finally said, gesturing down at Natalie's phone.

Natalie looked down and picked up her phone, staring at the screen, her thumb hovered over the 'accept' button, but before she could make a decision, the call ended. Natalie sighed and placed the phone next to her on the chair.

"You going to call him back?" Marina asked.

"Not right now. He's already called me a few times the past few weeks, not really ready to talk to him." Natalie said as she stood and handed Emily back over to Marina. "I'm gonna go take a shower." Natalie picked up her phone and slid it in her pocket, before walking back in the house.

* * *

A phone on a nightstand began to vibrate once again, an incoming call for Natalie. She walked out of bathroom into her guest room, drying her hair, and looked over seeing her phone going off. She quickly walked over and picked it up, but was to late as the call ended once again.

She gazed down at the screen knowing that it was Dean who called, she began to debate whether she should just call him back and try to talk to him. She went to call him back when another incoming call came in, but this time it was from Suzie.

Natalie's brows furrowed as she answered the call and placed the phone up to her ear. "Suzie?"

"_Nad, thank god you answered. I really need someone to talk to right now." _

"Suzie, what happened?" Natalie asked, already concerned by the tone in her voice.

"_My cousin Amy has been missing for days. I just drove up to her parent's house and I don't know what to do right now. They haven't gotten any leads on her." _

Natalie could feel her head swoon by the speed that Suzie spoke at. "Okay, Suzie, you just need to calm down. Amy is missing?" Natalie asked for clarification.

"_Yes. She's missing and I'm here with her parent's and I just...I need someone to talk to." _

"Suzie, do you want me to come up there? Stay with you a little bit?" Natalie asked, already getting her clothes ready.

"_Do you mind? I just need someone here." _

"I don't mind at all Suzie. I'll be there soon." Natalie hung up the phone and proceeded to get dressed in her spare set of clothes. She picked up her bag and dashed out of the room, rushing down the stairs, she saw Marina in the living room with Ethan and his parents.

"Hey. Um, sorry, but, I need to go." Natalie said, walking over to the door and began to put on her boots.

"Nad. What's wrong? Why are you leaving?" Marina asked, walking over to her sister.

"Uh...Suzie called. Her cousin is missing and she is really freaked out right now. So I'm gonna go stay with her for a little bit." Natalie slipped into her other boot and fixed the bottom of her jeans.

"Are you sure, Nad? I mean are you alright." Marina said, knowing that Natalie would read more into her question.

Natalie looked up at her sister and gave her a small nod. "Yeah. I'm fine. Besides, Suzie's cousin lives up in Limestone, that's only a couple of hours away." She looked over at Ethan's parents. "Thank you so much for letting me stay here."

"It's no problem at all." Ethan's mother said. "I hope everything goes well for your friend."

Natalie sighed, putting on her jacket. "Yeah. I hope so too." She fixed the collar of her jacket, looking back over at her sister. "I'll be fine. I'll call once I get there." Natalie stepped forward and gave her sister a quick hug, before rushing out of the door.

* * *

Parking her car on the driveway of the house, Natalie quickly got out while typing out a message to her sister before hitting send. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Natalie walked up the porch steps and knocked on the front door.

The door opened and Natalie saw Amy's mother, Kate, standing before her and she gave her a small smile. "Hi, Mrs. Jones." Natalie said as she stepped forward and gave Kate a small hug. "I'm so sorry about Amy."

Kate gave Natalie a small shake of her head and forced a smile. "Thanks, Natalie. Please, come in." Kate said, stepping aside from the door, allowing Natalie easy entry.

"Where's Suzie?" Natalie asked, taking a quick glance around the house.

"In the living room. You go right ahead, I just need to make a few calls." Kate said, before walking past Natalie and disappearing into the kitchen.

Natalie sighed and walked down the main hallway until she came to the living room and looked in, seeing Suzie sitting on the couch. "Hey, Suzie." Natalie said as she walked in and sat down on the couch next to her. "How are you holding up?"

Suzie let out a light scoff. "Horribly." She said, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey, listen, they're gonna find her. You just got to keep a positive mind." Natalie said, trying to give her friend some sort of hope.

"I just can't believe this is happening. I mean first Amy's dad died a few years ago...and now her?" Suzie shook her head as she began to play with the sleeve of her sweater.

"I know, it's not fair." Natalie faintly cringed at her own words, berating her for not saying more. "But, I'll stay here with you for as long as you need me to."

Suzie gave Natalie a small smile. "Thanks, Nad."

The doorbell halted the girls from saying anything else and Natalie saw Suzie cringe. "Don't worry. I'll get it."

Natalie stood up from the couch and walked back out into the main hall and towards the front door. She reached for the handle and opened the door. Sam and Dean were standing on the porch in their usual suits and FBI badges in their hands.

Dean and Sam both were surprised to see Natalie standing in front of them and the fact that the three of them were doing nothing but staring at each other, wasn't making the awkward tension go away.

Dean cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "What are you doing here, Nad?"

"Uh. Suzie is my friend and Amy was her cousin. She called me, told me that Amy was missing and so I drove up here." Natalie explained. "I'm guessing you two think that this might be a job."

Dean gave her half a shrug. "It seemed like something we should check out, so here we are."

"Listen, I know you guys are here to-"

"Natalie, who is at the door?" Kate asked as she walked up behind Natalie. "Hello, gentlemen, may I help you?"

Dean and Sam gave Kate small smiles as they held up their badges. "Agents Jones and Howard. We just need to ask you a few questions regarding your daughter." Dean said.

Natalie looked over at Kate, seeing the hesitation in her eyes. "You don't have to if you aren't ready."

Kate shook her head and gave Sam and Dean a smile. "I might as well get it over with, but, I already talked with the police."

"Right, we just need to clarify a few more things." Dean added.

"Right, well, come right in." Kate said, before turning around and making her way down to the living room.

Natalie stood aside allowing Sam and Dean to enter. "Go easy on her." Natalie said to both of them, though she knew that they would, she just felt like she had to say something to them.

Natalie followed them down to the living room and leaned against the entry, watching silently as Sam and Dean began to question them. Standing there, watching Sam and Dean do their jobs, she couldn't help but think back to all of the hunts the three of them went on. All that she had seen and experienced, it changed her completely. She had been through a lot in just a little over a year, all three of them had. And she couldn't help the want to get back to where they were before. Traveling around with the brothers, working on jobs with them. She wanted that more than anything.

Natalie had become so engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn't process Sam and Dean standing right in front of her. Dean stared at her, before nuding her in the arm. Natalie jumped at the notion and looked up at Dean, seeing him motioning for her to follow them. Natalie looked back in the living room, seeing that Suzie and Kate were to busy talking with each other, and then turned around, following Sam and Dean up the stairs.

"So, Nad, what do you know about Amy?" Dean asked as they made their way up the steps.

"Um. Well, she was probably the sweetest girl you would ever meet. I've only met her a handful of time, but, from what I've seen, she was smart and well mannered. But, she apparently changed after her dad died a few years ago."

Natalie paused as the three of them reached her bedroom door. "Oh and she was really interested in..." Natalie stopped as Sam opened the bedroom door, revealing Amy's room, which had a few posters of vampires strung up and an entire bookshelf filled with vampire stories. "...in vampires.

The three of them stepped into the room, gawking at Amy's collection. "Okay, I didn't think she had this much of an interest." Natalie admitted, jumping at a poster she saw once she had turned around.

"Now this is just ultra freaky." Dean remarked, looking at everything in the room.

"I guess this was a guilty pleasure to her." Natalie said. "I mean she never really seemed like an obsessive fan or anything."

"Yeah, well, let's see what else we can find out about her." Sam said as he walked over to her desk and opened her laptop.

Dean walked around her bed and picked up a book that was resting on the mattress. He examines the cover and scoffed. "Look at this. This dude is watching her sleep. Yeah, like that's not creepy at all."

"Dean, I'm trying to figure this out." Sam said, punching in another password combination.

Dean opens up the book and flips through a few pages, before settling on a paragraph. "He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tries desperately to control himself. Romero knew their love was impossible..." Dean stopped and made a face. "Romero? Really? That's his name."

Natalie looked over at Dean, giving him a look. "Dean. Seriously?"

Dean gazed up at Natalie. "This thing is a national bestseller. I'm just saying, give the vampire a name that fits him."

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she began to go through Amy's side table. In one of the drawers, she pulls out a journal that is decorated in cut out pictures. "Hey, Sam, try Pattinson."

Sam paused and turned to look at Natalie. "Will it work?"

Natalie turned and held up the journal with various pictures of him glued on the front. "Is that good enough for you?"

Sam turned back around and quickly typed it in, gaining access into her laptop. "Yeah, it worked alright."

Dean walks over to Sam, as he starts looking through some sort of social blog she had. "What do we got then?"

"Well, her inbox is full, from some guy claiming to be a vampire."

"Like a real vampire?" Dean asked.

"Well, he says that he can only go out at night and he doesn't trust himself with her, the usual."

Natalie put the journal back into the drawer. "So, what, vampires are now using social media to get new victims?"

"It's either that or just some guy posing as one." Dean added.

"Well, apparently, it's working. From what I've read about these cases before driving up here, these girls are just practically throwing themselves into the spotlight." Natalie said, walking up behind Sam and looking down at the screen.

"Well, here's something. He said that he wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose." Sam said.

"Great. It's most likely just a standard-issue perv, right?" Dean asked.

"Well, then you boys have somewhere to be then." Natalie said. Dean and Sam looked over at her and she began to motion them to leave the room. "Let's get out of here before I get even more creeped out."

Sam shut the laptop and got up from the chair, walking out of the room with Dean trailing behind. Natalie followed last, shutting the door behind her, feeling one more shiver roll down her spine.

Dean stepped into the kitchen, where Kate and Suzie were. "Thank you once again for your time, Mrs. Jones." Kate gave them a nod, before returning to drinking her coffee.

Dean and Sam turn out of the kitchen and walk towards the front door with Natalie behind them. Sam opened the door and walked out first then Dean, who stopped and turned to look at Natalie who was standing at the open door.

"Hey, Nad. Listen. I know there is a lot of bad water under the bridge right now. But we could always use an extra hand." Dean said.

Natalie pursed her lips and pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek. She had to admit, it was nice having an actual conversation with the two of them, even if it was about a job. Natalie gave them a small smile. "If you guys need any help, just call me. And this time I will pick up." Natalie said, directing her last statement at Dean.

Dean nodded. "We're gonna take you up on that."

Natalie gave them a nod, watching as they walked down the porch and back towards the Impala. And in the back of her mind, there was a faint hope that they would call her soon.

* * *

**So how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"Alright, thanks again Officer." Natalie turned around and walked out of the police station and pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed out Dean's number and put it against her ear.

"_Yeah. Wait let me put you on speaker." _

Natalie waited a few seconds before continuing. "Hey, so I went to the station, like you asked, to get some info about the whole alleyway situation."

"_What did you get?" _

"Well, the cops aren't exactly sure what to make of it. They got a call, saying that there was a truck in the middle of an alleyway and the driver was lying dead next to the vehicle." Natalie walked down the steps of the building and began to make her way back towards Amy's house.

"_Doesn't really seem like it's of any relation this case then."_

Natalie smiled faintly. "I'm not finished though. Guess what the van was carrying?" Natalie paused, waiting to see if either of them had a guess and she sighed when there was nothing but silence. "The van was carrying donated blood. And when the police searched the vehicle, all of the blood was gone."

"_Hmm. So, vampires are taking from blood vans." _Sam's voice came from the other line.

"_But that doesn't make sense." _Dean added. "_They have a complete food source all around them. Why would they result to stealing blood?" _

"I'm not sure. The cops had a theory that it was robbers. Yeah, blood is the number one thing that robbers definitely go for. But, maybe the vampires are storing it...saving it for something, maybe?"

"_Yeah, but, I mean, it's not something you hear about when it comes to vamps. You know? They hunt down their victims and they kill them. Pretty much almost like a clean slate." _

Natalie huffed out a breath as she looked both ways and then crossed the street to get to Amy's neighborhood. "I don't know, Dean. I mean with times changing, it would make sense for monsters to adapt some of their methods."

"_I'm not sure, it just doesn't sound right to me." _

Reaching the house, Natalie quickly walked up the porch steps and began to feel her demeanor change. She looked around and cleared her throat. "Well, um, you and Sam still have that bar to check out...so you two should do that."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. Dean could hear the change in her voice and he knew that she was going back to being withdrawn from them again. _"Yeah. Right. Um, thanks, Nad, for checking out the...you know." _

"Yeah. Yeah, it's no problem. If there's anything else you need just...call." Natalie said, hoping to end the awkwardness between the two lines.

"_Definitely. Bye, Nad." _

Natalie kept the phone to her ear even when she heard the call end. Sighing heavily, she pulled the phone away and slid it back in her pocket. Looking over, Natalie could see the sun just beginning to set for the day and she could feel herself growing tired. She opened the front door and quickly slipped in, closing the door behind her.

Looking down the hall, Natalie could see Kate walking up towards the front door. "Where are you going?" Natalie asked curiously.

Kate sighed as she picked up her purse. "I'm gonna visit my sister. I just need to see her for a little bit."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll stay here with Suzie. You go and get some rest if you can." Natalie said.

Kate gave Natalie a smile and nodded. "Thank you for coming Natalie."

"You don't have to thank me. I didn't mind really." Natalie said, assuring the woman before her.

Kate took in a breath and walked over to the door. "I'm only going to be staying for a day or so." She said, giving Natalie one last look before walking out of the door.

Natalie watched as Kate left and then ran a hand down her face. Letting out a tired yawn, she turned around and slowly made her way upstairs, hoping that she could get some sleep and maybe it will help clear her mind.

* * *

Her eyes slowly opened to nothing but darkness. Taking in a breath, Natalie rolled onto her back and listened intently to the sound of rain falling outside, a few drops hitting against the window. Natalie pushed herself up into a sitting position and ran a hand through her hair. The sound of footsteps downstairs, halted her movements. Natalie pushed the covers away from her body and slowly stood up, crept over to the door and opened it slightly, leaning her ear close to it to try and hear the noise better.

After a few minutes of silence, Natalie pulled the door open fully and walked down the hallway slowly. Keeping herself close to the wall, she reached Suzie's room and quietly opened the door. Looking in she saw Suzie was in her bed, sleeping soundly and Natalie furrowed her brows in panic.

The noise came once again from downstairs, causing Natalie to quickly close the door and walk the rest of the way down the hallway towards the stairs. Taking the steps one at a time, Natalie could hear the footsteps slowly disappear until silence took over. Reaching the bottom of the steps, Natalie stopped and leaned forward, looking into the kitchen and saw no one.

Natalie stepped down and slowly walked into the kitchen, looking around for anyone. "Mrs. Jones?" Natalie finally asked, thinking that she had returned to to something. The only response she received was silence.

Natalie turned around and felt her heart stop at the sight of someone standing in front of her. Natalie felt the person grab her arms, forbidding her from moving and she struggled only for a moment, when she finally saw who it was.

"Dean?" Natalie looked at him, her eyes narrowing in order to adjust to the dark.

"Yeah, it's me Nad."

Natalie felt him let go of her arms and she quickly switched on the lights. Turning back, she saw Dean cringe at the lights and raised his hand up to block it out. "Turn that off, Nad."

Natalie gave Dean a confused look, but, turned off the lights regardless. Instead, Natalie walked out into the main hallway and turned on the small lamp that rested on a table. Turning back around she found Dean making his way towards her. "Dean...how did you get in here?"

Dean rubbed his forehead and shook his head. "That's not important."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "Um. Actually, Dean it kind of..."

"Nad. Please there's something that I need to tell you." Dean interrupted her, his tone taking on a sense of urgency.

Natalie folded her arms over her chest and nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

"Listen. I know you're pissed at me, Sam and Bobby. And you have every right to be. But, all of this tension going on, it needs to stop. I know that Sam and I showing up here just created a whole new kind of awkwardness. But, I just wanted to say that I am sorry. Really, I am. We had no right to keep something like that from you...and I hope you know that we all regret it."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Natalie suddenly questioned.

Dean sighed, but continued anyways. "We just thought that we were finally doing something right for once, by keeping you out of this. We thought maybe just once we wouldn't screw up someone else's life. I know that this doesn't make up for all that we did...but, I just needed to get this off of my chest. I just wanted to try and clear up the bad water before..."

Natalie stared at Dean, at lost for words, since she didn't expect him to confess like this. But, there was something else that was confusing her. The tone in his voice, was something different, like he was making amends because something was going to happen.

"Dean? Are you alright? Did something happen?" Natalie asked cautiously.

Dean closed his eyes, taking in a heavy sigh and turned away from her. Natalie stared at him, seeing his body shaking and he was groaning in what sounded like either discomfort or pain. Natalie's brows creased with worry as she took a step towards him.

"Dean?"

Dean raised his hand towards her, motioning her to stop. "Nad. Just stay back."

At this point, Natalie could feel herself begin to panic at Dean's behaviour. She ignored his words and took another step towards him, raising her hand, she rested it on his shoulder. "Dean, are you okay?"

Natalie was caught off guard as Dean turned around and pushed her up against the wall. Immediately, she began to try and get out of his hold, but, his grasp on her was to strong. She stared at Dean, seeing him staring her down, but the look in his eyes, caused her panic to increase. Natalie watched as Dean opened his mouth and much to her horror, fangs soon began to appear.

Her eyes widened as she braced her hands against his chest, to try and keep him back. "Dean. Dean, don't do this." She said as she struggled in his hold.

Dean began to lean closer to Natalie, her attempt to keep him back not working on him. Natalie turned her head away as he inched closer to her neck and heard him taking in a deep breath.

"Dean. Stop it." Natalie said, trying to push him away from her. Dean grabbed onto her left wrist and pinned her arm against the wall, making her even more vulnerable to him. Dean stared at Natalie, seeing the panic in her eyes something in him snapped and he closed his eyes, trying to gain control of his raging hunger.

"No. No!" Dean said to himself, trying to gain control over himself. His fangs retracted and he had to force himself to let Natalie go. He leaned up against the opposite wall, running a hand down his face and then looked up at Natalie, seeing the look on her face, only then he began to grasp on what he had done. Dean groaned as he turned to walk down the hallway.

Natalie recovered from her initial shock and followed down, placing her hand on his shoulder, she stopped him from going any further. "Dean, where are you going?"

Dean hesitated, not looking back at her. "I'm going back to the motel."

"Okay, well, I'm going with you." Natalie said.

Dean quickly looked over at her, shaking his head. "No, Nad. I don't think that's a good idea. I mean I almost..."

"I'm going with you, Dean. I'll follow you with my car, if you don't me being in the Impala with you. Either way, I'm not letting you leave here without me, Dean." Natalie had grabbed her keys that were resting on the table near the front door, and was ready to get Dean out of here.

Dean gave Natalie a hesitated look, not wanting her to come with him in fear that he would actually harm her in some way. But, seeing the look on her face, he knew that she wasn't going to settle for him telling her to stay here. Dean sighed and walked over to the front door, which Natalie opened to allow him leave first.

Dean stopped and turned to look at Natalie. "What about your friend?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "I'll send her a message. Tell her that I had to do something in town. She'll understand." Natalie looked at Dean, then gently ushered him out of the door then quickly closed it, before trailing behind him.

* * *

Dean opened the hotel door and quickly walked in, his hand running down his face. Natalie walked in and closed the door behind her, before making her way towards Dean, who had seated himself at the table.

"Okay, are you finally going to tell me what the hell happened to you?" Natalie asked.

Dean held his head and took a few deep breaths. "Sam and I were at the bar. I saw some kid, thought he was a vampire. So of course I follow him and turns out he wasn't one. Then I get approached by this...guy. To be honest, first I thought he was hitting on me...which he probably was...I don't know. Anyways, he attacked me and forced me to drink his blood."

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded. "And he turned you into a vamp. Great. Where was Sam in all of this?" Natalie saw Dean's expression change as he began to search for an answer to give her.

"I don't know. Honestly, the whole thing is still just a big blur." Dean said.

Natalie looked around the room. "And where is he?"

"Well, probably looking for me." Dean added. "I didn't tell him that I was going anywhere."

"Oh for godsakes, Dean."

"Well, sorry. I was just freaking out over the fact that I was starting to turn into a vamp, okay?" Dean looked over at Natalie, hearing her heartbeat pounding and her blood rushing through her veins, it resonated in his ears only enticing him even more. "God, Nad. You need to calm down, your blood is so just so freaking loud right now."

Natalie gave Dean a look and scoffed. "Well, sorry for not being calm. I'm still trying to grasp the fact that you are now a vampire."

The motel door opened and Natalie turned around, seeing Sam and an older man walking in. "Well I didn't think that he'd..." Sam stopped once he saw Natalie standing in the room. "Nad?"

"Yeah. Hey." Natalie said, her brows furrowing at the other guy. "Who is that?"

"I'm Samuel. I'm their grandfather" He said, closing the door behind him and walked over to Natalie, who was eyeing him curiously. "And you must be, Natalie, right?" He said, extending his hand out to her.

Natalie eyed it for a moment before finally taking it. "How do you know who I am?"

"Sam." He said, motioning toward Sam. "He talked about you a lot during the past year."

Natalie nodded and pressed her tongue to the side of her cheek. "Good to know. So, if you mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

"He's here to kill me." Dean said, standing up from the table.

Samuel drew out his machete. "Did you feed, Dean?"

Dean looked up at Samuel and huffed. "I went to say goodbye to Lisa, which was a lousy idea. Then I came back to talk with Nad. That was even more of a bad idea."

"Just answer the question Dean." Samuel said once again.

"Oh, relax. I didn't drink anyone, okay?" Dean said, taking off his jacket. "Alright, let's get this over with. Do it."

Natalie stared at Dean and shook her head. "Wait a minute. You're not actually going to kill him, are you?"

"Come on. He has to." Dean said.

"I could do that...or I could cure you."

"What?" Sam, Dean and Natalie all spoke simultaneously.

"I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean. I'm here to save you."

"How exactly are you going to do that?" Natalie asked curiously.

"With a cure." Samuel walked over to the table and set down his bag. Digging through it, he pulled out a worn down journal. "It's my grandfather's journal. Cure's an old Campbell recipe, kind of like the soup. No one's tried it since God knows. What I hear...this stuff is a bad trip."

Dean picked up the journal and read through the recipe. "Great."

"The cure is good. But a lot of this is on you. You drink, you're done. It won't work. I'm talking one drop of human blood..."

"Yeah, I got it." Dean interrupted.

"Really? Because you will feed. It's only a matter of time."

"Yeah, well, Dean has been pretty good at keeping himself tamed. What do we need for the recipe?" Natalie asked.

"Some of the stuff we got, some we have to get. Trickiest thing on the list: blood of the fang that turned you." Samuel explained.

"That guy was huge though." Sam added.

"There's nothing in the recipe about anything being easy." Samuel remarked.

"I can get it." Dean said.

"You're gonna walk right up into that nest?" Samuel questioned.

"Well, I'm one of them, aren't I? So all I gotta do is get in there, get the guy alone, and...shoot him with so much dead man's blood that he'll think he's rushing a fraternity."

"Dean, are you sure that's a good idea?" Natalie asked.

"Why not?"

"Well, at least let either Sam or I come with you." Natalie added.

"No way in hell. You both reek. You two are like walking hamburgers." Natalie made a face as she looked down at herself. "I gotta do this solo."

"Yeah, except—we haven't been able to find him yet." Sam said.

"No problem." Dean got up and walked towards the motel door. "I can smell him two miles east of town. You three get the crap and meet me there."

"Dean." Samuel pulls out a syringe with blood in it. "It's dead man's blood. Now, there's enough there to drop a linebacker, and then some. Good luck, son."

Dean nodded and placed the syringe in his jacket pocket before turning around and leaving the motel room.

Natalie turned to look at Samuel. "You sure that you can get this stuff."

"Most definitely." Samuel assured her.

Natalie nodded as she looked over at Sam who was already beginning to get everything together. In her pocket, she could feel her phone vibrating and she pulled it out. "Excuse me." Natalie walked out into the motel hallway, making sure that the door remained open slightly.

"Hey, Aunt Clara." Natalie said, once she had answered the call.

"_So, you aren't with Mari and Ethan." _

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed, realizing she forgot to tell her where she was going. "Crap. Sorry."

"_I had to hear from your sister that you left. Nad..."_

"Yeah, I know Aunt Clara. I should have told you and I completely forgot. Sorry."

"_Where are you anyways?" _

"Limestone. Suzie's cousin went missing, so I came up to stay with her for a little bit. But, it turns out, vampires are behind all of this."

"_Really? Did you check it out?" _

"Well, not exactly. Dean and Sam came up here to check it out, so, I'm helping them out a little bit."

"_Yeah,well, I am gonna make my way up there. Kate called me, asked if I could come down." _

"That sounds like a good idea. They need all of the distraction they can get."

"_Yeah. Well, what are you doing now?"_

"Well, I'm about to head out with Sam and Samuel to do a few things..."

"_Samuel?"_

"Their grandfather. Trust me. I don't know the story either, so I'm hoping they are willing to explain it to me."

"_Alright, well you just be careful." _

"I will Aunt Clara." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. Walking back towards the door, she could hear a part of Samuel and Sam's conversation.

"_That's strange. Because if you had known, it'd be almost like you let him get turned. Get a man on the inside? Help us find the alpha we've been looking for?" _

Natalie stared at the door, gawking at what she had just heard.

"_Are you serious? You think I'd do something like that, risk my own brother? What's wrong with you?" _

Natalie was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't have time to step away when the door suddenly opened. Looking up, she saw the look on Sam's face fill with what looked like annoyance. "Is there something we need to talk about Sam?" She questioned.

Samuel sighed and walked past Sam and into the hallway. "Looks like you two need a moment."

Natalie didn't give Samuel any acknowledgement as he walked down the hallway, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence. "What exactly happened, Sam? Was Samuel right? Did you purposely let Dean get turned so you could just get the alpha?"

"Nad. No, of course not. It's not what you think it is." Sam said, trying to assure her.

Natalie stared at Sam, her eyes narrowing. "Why am I having a hard time believing you?"

Sam scoffed. "I don't get why you are getting so worked up about it. You weren't there. And because of that, you have no idea what happened. You didn't help us, instead, you were to busy moping around at your friend's house."

"Yeah, you want to know why I was 'moping' around. It's because I was still pissed that you, Dean and Bobby lied to me! You think two weeks would be enough for me to let it all go?!" Natalie called out.

Sam huffed and shook his head. "Just stop. Alright? Just stop trying to accuse me of something you have no idea about, alright? Let's just get out of here so we can get this done. Yeah?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sam?!" Natalie asked, seeing Sam give another annoyed sigh. "You are definitely not yourself."

"Yeah, well, I came back from hell. Sorry if I am not all peachy. Now are you done giving me this pep talk? Because we need to get going."

Natalie shook her head. "Yeah. Sure, whatever." She said as she headed down the hallway.

* * *

Samuel parked the van near the Impala and looked down at the building where Dean was in. "I'm guessing this is the place."

"Shh...wait." Sam said. The three of them remain silent, listening for what Sam was hearing. Something suddenly lands on the roof of the car and a vampire smashes the driver side window, grabbing Samuel.

Natalie went to get out of the van when Sam beat her to it. He rushed out of the car and attacked the vampire, beheading him with one swipe.

"Well, so much for being undercover." Samuel said.

Natalie walked to the back door and pushed it open, then hopped out of the vehicle. Samuel met her at the back of the car and pulled out a machete.

"I think it's best you stay here." Samuel said as he looked at Natalie.

Natalie scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'm not going to wait out here. I'm going in with you two."

"Nad." Sam spoke, but, Natalie looked up at him, giving him a hardened glare, though it didn't do much for her. "I think it's best you stay out here as well."

"Yeah, well, sorry. But, that's not going to happen." She looked over at Samuel. "You have an extra machete."

Samuel hesitantly pulled out the weapon, which Natalie quickly took. "Still don't think it's a good idea." Samuel added.

"I'm going in there. Whether you two like it or not." Natalie said. She walked past them and began to make her way towards the building.

Samuel and Sam stand near the van, watching her retreating figure. "You were right about one thing." Samuel said.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Samuel closed the van door and looked over at Sam. "She's stubborn. Determined, but, stubborn." Samuel walked towards the building with Sam trailing behind.

* * *

The three of them walk through a door that had been left open, their machetes close to them. Multiple headless bodies, created a gruesome trail to where they knew Dean would be.

Natalie walked a little head of the other two, her hand occasionally tightening on the handle.

"Looks, like your brother has some Campbell in him after all."

Natalie heard Samuel comment as she walked through another doorway, she was met with another pile of headless bodies. Though, one caught her eye and she slowly made her way over to the body. Kneeling down, Natalie got a good look at the face.

"Amy." Natalie whispered to herself.

"Now, I know what happened to you." Natalie said, standing back up. _How am I going to tell Suzie and Kate? _Natalie thought to herself as she continued on through the room.

Reaching another open door, Natalie walked through and found herself standing in the middle of a hallway, with even more headless bodies strewn on the floor.

"Oh my god, Dean."

Natalie spots a set of stairs at the end of the hallway and made her way over to them, taking them one at a time. The stairs ended at the entrance to another room and as Natalie stepped in, she found that it must have been the main room. And no surprise, bodies were all over the place.

She looked ahead and saw Dean, leaning against the table. She took a quick look around the room and saw that there were no other vampires.

"Dean?" Natalie asked, seeing him slowly turn around to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Dean gave her a slow nod. "Yeah. I'm alright."

* * *

Natalie watched silently as Samuel squirts blood into a jar that had the ingredients for the cure. Looking back over at Dean, she can see his breathing had turned into pants and his expression was etched with pain.

"Now, you know that if this works, it's not gonna be a kiddy ride." Samuel said to Dean.

"That's great. Light her up."

"So what'd you see in there?" Sam asked. Natalie casted him a look that he didn't notice.

"What?" Dean asked.

"What did you see in the nest?" Sam tried again.

"Sam, I can't hear you—your blood is so damn loud, okay? Just—just back off." Samuel pours the potion into a coffee mug and hands it to Dean, who takes a quick sniff and recoils. "L'chaim..." Dean brought the cup to his lips and chugs down the potion as some of it drips down his chin.

Dean sets the mug back down on the table, gagging at the terrible substance in his mouth. "God that's disgusting." He said, wiping at his chin. "I don't think it—' Dean turns around and drops to his knees, vomiting into a waste bucket.

Natalie stared at Dean, her eyes widening. "Is this supposed to happen? Is it working?"

"Either that or he is dying."

Natalie kept her focus on Dean, watching as he continues to spit blood into the waste basket. Dean leans away from the wastebasket, his hand clutching his stomach as he moans in agony and his eyes were bloodshot. Natalie ran a hand through her hair, feeling her nerves going on end, at the sight of Dean like this.

Dean falls to his side, his breathing was labored and his agonized moaning were still present, but sounded like they were beginning to die down. Natalie walked a little closer towards him, wanting to make sure that she kept her eyes fixed on him. His eyes fly open and they were no longer red, but, they were now clear.

Natalie quickly rushed over and knelt down next to him, helping him sit back up. "Hey. You alright?" Dean nodded in response to her question. Sam knelt down next to Dean, giving him a small pat on the chest, but, Dean only gave Sam a strange look and it didn't go unnoticed by Natalie.

* * *

Dean walked out of the bathroom, wiping his face with a towel. Sam looked up at him. "Hi. So, what'd you see?"

"What?" Dean asked, taken aback from Sam's question.

"In the nest, what did you see?" Sam asked again. Natalie looked over at Sam and then back at Dean.

"Um. Well, I'm still trying to work through it, but, uh...I'm pretty sure they're not figuring anything out on their own. They're getting they're orders from the top...where to go next, all of that."

"Top, as in...?" Samuel asked.

"Their alpha. At least, that's what I think it is. They've got some sort of psychic thing happening. He sends them, uh, I guess you could call them messages."

"Say what, exactly?" Sam asked.

"Honestly? Recruitment drive. Their alpha's building an army."

"Well that's just comforting." Sam remarked.

"Yeah. That's not the worse though." Dean added.

"Then what is?"

"We don't scare them anymore." Dean said. Sam and Samuel exchange looks before going back to packing their things.

Dean looks over at Natalie, seeing a look on her face and walked over to her, nudging her arm. She looked over at him. "You okay?" He asked.

Natalie sighed. "I saw Amy."

Dean nodded grimly, knowing that she was one of the many vampires that went after him back at the nest. "Yeah. Nad, listen, I didn't..."

"No it's fine." Natalie said. "Really. You had no choice. She was already turned...wasn't she." Natalie saw Dean nod his head and she sighed again. "Then you did exactly what you needed to do. I just don't know what I'm going to say to her mom and Suzie."

Dean pursed his lips, remaining silent not knowing what to say to her. Natalie gave Dean a small smile and walked over towards the door, but stopped and turned back. "I'm gonna head back to Amy's house. I need to figure out what I'm going to do."

The three men give her a nod. Natalie looked over at Samuel. "It was, uh, nice meeting you."

Samuel gave her a small nod. "Nice meeting you as well, Natalie."

Natalie looked back over at Dean, seeing him giving her a forced smile. She forced herself to turn around and opened the door, quickly making her exit.

* * *

"Okay, so explain to me exactly what happened?" Clara said. She and Natalie were standing near the front door of Amy's house, making sure to keep their voices down so Kate and Suzie wouldn't hear them.

"Dean got turned by one of the vampires. And Samuel had a cure for him. All we needed was the blood of the vampire that turned him. So, Dean goes to the nest and slaughters the entire base. And...one of them was Amy."

Natalie could see her Aunt's face turn grim. Clara sighed heavily and buried her face in her hands for a moment, before looking back up at Natalie. "And she had already been turned?" Natalie responded with a nod. "God dammit."

"I don't know what to say to them, Aunt Clara."

Clara thought for a moment and then braced her hands on Natalie's shoulders. "You won't have to. I'll stay here and...help calm everything down. Why don't you go ahead and go back to the house?"

"Aunt Clara, I can't just leave Suzie."

"Kate told me that Suzie is going to stay with a friend up in Chicago. She needs to get out of here anyway. You go and I'll stay here."

"Are you sure?" Natalie asked.

Clara gave her a tired nod. "Yes. I'm sure. Go."

Natalie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Clara, giving her a quick hug before pulling away. Opening the door, Natalie gave her Aunt another look before walking out and closing the door behind her. Looking over, Natalie saw Sam and Dean leaning against the Impala, waiting for her.

Natalie walked down the porch steps and made her way over to them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Came to see how everything is." Dean said, walking away from the Impala and towards her. "How did they take it?" Dean asked.

Natalie sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I won't know for a while. Aunt Clara is staying here...she said that she will handle everything."

Natalie looked at Dean, feeling that she needed to say something to both him and Sam. All of this tension between them needed to stop and she needed to do her part. "Listen. Dean, what you said last night...when you came to see me..."

"I meant every word, Nad." Dean said.

"I know you did. And this whole thing...I've been giving it a lot of thought since we all talked at Bobby's. And, I know that you guys did what you did because you wanted to, I guess, protect me. And at first I didn't accept it...but now, I do."

Dean's face lightened with surprise and also was looked like gratitude, and Sam, even though it wasn't much, Natalie could see his brows raise in surprise.

"Don't get me wrong I'm still...angry. But, this case gave me something to focus on instead of what was going on with us. And it made me realize that I need to move on from this. So, I do, somewhat, forgive you guys. I'm still working on it though."

Dean smirked and nodded his head. "Thanks, Nad. I know it probably isn't easy at all to try and forgive any of this."

"No." Natalie was quick to answer. "But, I need to." Natalie looked at the brothers one more time before turning to get into her car. "Well, I think I should let you two go. You need to get back out on the road."

"Hey, Nad." Dean said. Natalie stopped and looked back over at Dean. "You know...your spot in the Impala is still open. And maybe...if you're up for it, the three of us could head out on the road together. It could be like old times. Not gonna lie...I kinda miss that."

Natalie huffed out a laugh and smiled. "I miss it too." By the look on Dean's face, Natalie knew that he wanted her to come along with them and she wasn't going to lie, she wanted to as well. Natalie leaned her hand against the car window and tapped her fingers on the glass. "Well, I don't have any of my stuff with me. My gun. Everything is back at home."

Dean shrugged. "There's no problem with us heading up there so you can get them."

Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek. "If I do this, there has to be one condition." The boys looked at her expectantly. "You two can't hide anything else from me. If there is something that I need to know...then tell me. Promise that you two won't lie to me like that ever again."

Dean nodded. "Promise."

Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing his head nodding faintly. "Promise."

She nodded in content and gave the boys a small smirk. "Then I guess you two will follow me?"

Dean gave Natalie a smile. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

**So how did you all like it? How did you like the little interaction between Soulless Sam and Nad...not that cute was it? But, now Nad is pretty much back in the game with her boys. **

**Also, on a somewhat related note, there is a song you all should check out. It's called 'Something I need' by OneRepublic and not gonna lie, when I first heard it I immediately thought of Sam and Nad. I don't know if it's just me. But, if you listen to it, tell me your input! **

**Until next time! Xx**


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all. I'm sorry it took a while, I was having a hard time planning out how I wanted this hunt to play out and I have been sick the past week, so I have been working on this chapter bit by bit. Anyways, hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do now own Supernatural_

* * *

"Okay. And do you know if she had any enemies? Or could you think of anyone who would do anything like this to her?" Natalie asked.

Lea, the girl sitting across from her, shook her head confusingly. "No. No, of course not. Alex was happy. Everyone loved her."

Natalie nodded her head. "I understand. We just need to look into every possible reasoning. Now, could you tell me what happened the last time you saw her."

"We met up at the library, so that we could study for our exams. We stayed there probably..." Lea paused and pursed her lips to the side in thought. "...we were only there for a few hours. Left around 9:30. I offered to drive her home, but, she said that she was going to walk. She did that a lot, so I didn't think much of it. She said that she would call me later and then left...that was the last time I saw her."

Natalie nodded as she quickly wrote something down on her small notepad. "Do you know if she went to see anyone else after you two departed? Anyone she might have visited?"

Lea shrugged and shook her head, then sucked in a breath. "No. She might have went to see Matt before going home. But, I'm not sure."

Natalie nodded and her eyes narrowed in a questioning look. "And, who is Matt?"

"He was her boyfriend."

"And is there any indication or reason to think that he would...you know..."

Lea gave Natalie a look and huffed out a breath. "No. Of course not. They were great together. Matt would never do anything to hurt Alex."

Natalie nodded once again. "Of course." She said, as she went on to write a few more things down.

Lea settled back against the couch and rested her hands in her lap. "I can't believe she's gone. I should have just driven her home that night."

Natalie quickly looked up at Lea, her brows furrowed slightly at her words.

"If I had just told her to get into my car...none of this would be happening right now."

Natalie's eyes dropped from their gaze on Lea as she closed her notepad and slipped it back into her pocket. She then leaned forward, her elbows resting against her knees. "Listen, Lea. I know that you feel guilty...but, there is no reason to start blaming yourself. There was no way you could have known this was going to happen."

Lea took in a breath, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I know. But, I can't help it. I just feel like I'm the one to blame. I feel responsible. If I had done something differently...maybe she would still be here."

Natalie sighed in sympathy. She knew exactly how Lea was feeling, since, she herself, has felt this way far to many times. And in this past year, Natalie was able to truly accept that she was never to blame for anything. And seeing this young woman before her, Natalie felt like she needed to talk some truth into her.

"You've lost someone close to you, I know how you feel. Trust me. I've been through situations..." Natalie paused as she simmered momentarily in her thoughts. "...similar to this...too many times. And I did exactly what you are doing right now. I blamed myself for everything. Not a day went by where I didn't feel guilty about it."

Lea nodded her head curiously and wiped at her eyes. "Did you get past it?"

Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "I did. And, it wasn't easy. But, I had people in my life who loved me and assured me that none of it was my fault. That I wasn't to blame. Now, it took a lot of convincing on their part...but, they managed to get through to me. And you're lucky enough to have friends and family to help you through this. But, you have to be willing to accept that you are not to blame. None of this was your fault."

The moment between them was soon cut short as Natalie's phone began to go off. She smiled apologetically and pulled out her phone, answering the call. "Yeah."

"_Hey, meet us at the county morgue. We're gonna take a look at Alex's body." _Sam's voice came through the other end.

Natalie's eyes swept over to Lea. "Yeah, alright. I'll meet you there."

Natalie ended the call and stood up from the couch, "I'm sorry, I need to leave...there's something that I need to tend to." She said as she walked over to the front door with Lea following her.

Natalie suddenly stopped and looked back at her. "Remember what I said." Lea hesitated, but, then gave her a reassuring nod. Natalie gave her a small smile before leaving the house.

* * *

Natalie entered the building and showed her badge at the worker sitting at the counter and with a nod from him, she continued on her way down the hallway. Turning left, she found herself standing in front of the morgue doors and pushed them open.

Walking in, she could see Dean and Sam standing near the body freezers, talking to what looked like a doctor. As she came to a stop near Sam she cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the three men.

"Sorry about the wait." Natalie said, seeing the Doctor give her a look of understanding. "So my partners told me that you finished the autopsy of Alex's body?"

The doctor nodded and opened the freezer door, then pulled out the slab with Alex's body and quickly pulled away the sheet.

Natalie widened her eyes for a quick second then furrowed her brows as she scanned over Alex's body. Her chest had been stitched up and her right arm was stitched to her shoulder and her left leg had been partially stitched on the top section.

Natalie grimaced at the injuries. "I'm guessing her body was in a really bad state when they found her." Natalie said finally, looking up at the doctor.

"One of the worse states I have ever seen. Her arm was detached, her right leg looked like it was torn halfway and her chest was ripped open, heart was missing."

The three hunters heads quirked at these words as they casted a glance at each other. "So, do you have any idea as to what did this to her?" Natalie asked.

The doctor gazed down at Alex's body, covered the sheet back over her and pushed the slab back into the freezer. "It might sound a little off, but, a dog, maybe. But, I have never seen injuries like these caused by any kind of dog."

Dean nodded and shook the man's hand. "Thanks, Doctor." He offered Dean a small nod then turned around and walked out of the morgue.

Natalie sighed and looked over at them. "So. Chest ripped open. Heart missing. Werewolf?"

"That's what I'm leaning towards." Dean said. "What did you get from Alex's friend?"

Natalie shook her head and sighed. "Not that much. She said that she and Alex were at the library, studying for exams. When they left, she offered to drive Alex home, but, she wanted to walk. And that was it."

Sam hummed in response. "Well that's not much to go on."

"Well, there is something else." Both Dean and Sam looked at her expectantly. "Lea said that Alex most likely went to visit Matt, her boyfriend, before she headed home."

"Most likely?" Sam questioned.

Natalie looked over at Sam and shrugged. "Yeah. I didn't get the chance to go talk to him, so I'm gonna head out there after this. If you two want to come with, you are more than welcome to."

Sam's phone began to go off and he quickly pulled it out. "Hello. Yeah...I'll be right there." Sam looked up at Dean and Natalie. "They found another body. I'm gonna go check it out so you two can go...check on him." Sam turned around and left the morgue.

Natalie made a face at how blunt Sam was and she looked over at Dean, who let out a breath and shrugged, brushing off her look, for now at least. "Let's get going, Nad. Who knows, this guy might be who we are looking for."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "Don't start thinking that just yet, Dean." She said, brushing past Dean. "Let's just talk to the guy first before we start passing our conclusions."

* * *

Dean and Natalie stood on the porch and he raised his hand, knocking against the door a few times. The two stood in silence for a brief moment, when the door opened, revealing a young man, who was staring at them cautiously.

Dean and Natalie both offer him a smile as they show him their badges. "Agents Howard and Carson. We were wondering if we could talk with you."

Matt eyed them warily. "I already talked with the police about what happened with Alex."

Natalie raised her brows at this, since she and Dean didn't know and nodded. "I understand, but, we just need to clarify a few more things. If that's alright with you."

Matt let out a sigh, relenting to both Natalie and Dean, then stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. "Fine. But, I would much rather do it out here.

"That's fine." Natalie looked over at Dean, who gave her a small nod. "So, the police questioned you because Alex came to visit you the night she disappeared."

Matt hesitated for a moment and then nodded his head. "Yeah, she did."

"Would you please tell us again what exactly happened when she arrived?" Natalie asked.

Matt sighed and slid his hands into his pockets. "She arrived around...9:40 and she didn't stay long. We just talked for a while, nothing to big. She left maybe around 10."

Both Dean and Natalie nodded though Dean decided to press his luck on his edging conclusion. "And, you didn't have any knowledge as to what happened to her...right?"

Matt gave Dean a look and shook his head. "Of course I didn't. I even offered to drive her home, but, she declined. We all live close together...walking from place to place isn't exactly an unnatural thing to happen here. I had absolutely no idea that...this would happen."

Natalie sighed, casting Dean a glance and looked back at Matt. "We both understand Matt. It's just something that we need to ask."

Matt took in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. Natalie could see that he was getting a little emotional over talking about it and she felt sorry for him. "Are we done here?" He asked.

"Um..." Natalie looked over at Dean, who raised his brows at her, and she looked back at Matt. "Yeah, I suppose if you aren't wanting to go further."

"Thank you." Matt gave them a quick nod and turned around, quickly walking back into his house and closed the door.

Natalie and Dean stood in silence on the porch, their eyes remained on the door until they glanced over at each other. "Well then...that was the quickest questioning I've ever done." Dean commented.

The two of them turned around and headed down the porch steps, making their way back towards the Impala. "I guess we should head over to where Sam is...see what is going on over there." Natalie said.

"Yeah." Dean said. As they got closer to the car, Dean realized he didn't want to wait to talk with Natalie. He reached forward and grasped her arm, causing her to stop and turn to him. "Hey, Nad. Can I ask you something?"

Natalie furrowed her brows. "Yeah. Sure. What is it?"

Dean cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Have...have you noticed anything...different about Sam?"

Natalie gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Like. Does he seem a little...off to you?" Dean asked.

Natalie thought for a moment and shrugged. "Well, Dean, I haven't really been around him that much to come up with a decision. But, from what I have noticed he seems a little...distant. Almost like he is detached from everything."

Dean nodded, though Natalie's explanation wasn't really what he was expecting. The look on his face didn't slip past Natalie and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Dean. There's something else, isn't there?" Natalie asked and she could see by the look on his face that there was something he hasn't told her. "What's wrong Dean?"

Dean sighed. "It had to do with that vampire case back in Illinois. I am not even sure if what I saw actually happened, I just, I need to talk about it."

Natalie nodded slowly. "Okay."

"When I drank the cure, I kind of had these flashbacks about everything that happened that night and there was this particular one...where I saw Sam and he-he watched me get turned."

Natalie's eyes widened and she blinked several times. Dean saw Natalie's reaction and felt like she thought he was crazy. "Like I said. I don't think what I saw was the real thing. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me."

Natalie bit down on her lip, debating whether she should tell Dean what she heard Samuel and Sam talking about back at Illinois. "Or maybe you aren't imagining things."

Dean looked at her curiously. "What?"

Natalie opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, trying to think about how she should tell him. "Well...back in Illinois, after you left to get back to the nest...I overheard Sam and Samuel talking..."

Dean nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"And, Samuel said that he told Sam about the cure. Basically, saying that Sam allowed you to get turned because he knew that Samuel had a cure. So, naturally, I asked him about it and he just completely...shut me down. And the way he talked to me it was just...I don't know."

Natalie finished and allowed Dean to process the news, but, he seemed just a little to quiet about it all. Though, in all honesty. she didn't know exactly how he would react to it.

"You seem a little to quiet about all of this." Natalie finally said.

Dean looked up at her and sniffed then shook his head. "I really don't know what to think. I mean, Sam is..."

"Different." Natalie finished. "Well, I mean, how can we blame him Dean? He was in hell. And, sorry for bringing this up, but, when you came back from hell, I'm pretty sure you were a little different."

Dean took in Natalie's words and shrugged. "Yeah, that would change anyone. But, Sam, he would never do something like that..."

"What do you want to do then?" Natalie asked, after a brief silence.

Dean pursed his lips. "Right now, nothing. But, we need to keep an eye on him."

Natalie nodded. "Okay, then."

Dean fixed his tie and ushered her over to the car. "Let's go find Sam then."

* * *

Dean parked the Impala and the two of them got out. He held up the tape for Natalie to walk under and then followed. An approaching officer, caused them to pull out their badges and quickly showed him, allowing them access to the scene.

Sam, who was standing near the body, turned around and walked over to Dean and Natalie, the three of them huddling together. "Well?" Dean asked.

"Victims' chest was ripped open, missing heart, both arms were torn off and they had multiple lacerations on both legs. No doubt that this is a werewolf."

Natalie looked past Sam and over at the body that was covered in a bloodied sheet. "I'm kind of surprised though. I mean, most of the time, wouldn't they turn a few of their victims? I mean most of the people they find are dead."

"Unless, they have already turned someone and we just don't know about it yet." Sam added. "Also, this park, is the same place the first two victims were found along with Alex."

Natalie nodded and looked around her surroundings. "So, it seems like this is the werewolf's favorite feeding ground. It makes sense. This park is a pathway to the other neighborhoods. No doubt lots of people use this way."

"Yeah, well, we just need to find a way to find this thing." Dean said.

"True. I mean the thing could be anyone." Sam added.

Natalie looked at Sam and Dean then shrugged. "Then there is only one way. We lure it out." The two hunters look at her. "We can come back here and I'll walk through the park, try and entice the thing out."

"No!"

"Fine."

Dean and Sam spoke at the same time, but, Dean looked over at Sam upon hearing his answer to Natalie's plan. And Natalie was anything but surprised at Sam's quick acceptance to her plan. Usually, there would have been some sort of argument coming from him, but, not this time.

"Are you kidding?" Dean asked Sam then looked back over at Natalie. "No. Were not gonna use you as bait, Nad."

Natalie eyed Sam a little longer, before looking back over at Dean. "Listen, like Sam said, we have no idea who it is. If I can draw the thing out, you two can gank it right on the spot. It's our best shot. Besides, I'd rather it be me than some random person."

Dean thought for a moment and then shook his head, causing Natalie to sigh. "No. I don't like it."

"Let's do it." Sam suddenly said.

"Sam, are you nuts?" Dean asked.

"Dean, Nad is right. It's the best and easiest way of getting this thing. And Nad is up for it."

"So, what?" Dean answered. "What if something goes wrong during it and she gets hurt...or worse?!"

Sam sighed. "Dean, I don't want her getting hurt either." Natalie's eyes narrowed once Sam said this. There was something about the way his tone was that didn't sit well with her. "But, it is our best shot."

Dean continued to shake his head, not wanting to go on with the plan. Looking at Natalie, he knew that there was no way she was going to back out of it. Letting out a sigh, Dean finally nodded. "Fine. We'll go with your way, Nad."

* * *

**So, how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I am freaking out! Have you guys seen the clip from season 10! If not I'll put the link up on my profile so you guys can see it. I am literally shaking because I am so pumped for the new season!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Natalie filled her gun with silver bullets and closed the clip, cocking the gun afterwards. She looked over at Dean, who was sitting across from her at the table, prepping himself for the hunt. Though, he had been very quiet throughout the entire time.

Natalie set the gun down on the table and sat back in the chair, her eyes remaining on Dean. "You have been really quiet."

Dean finished putting in the rounds for his gun when he looked up at her. "You know that I don't like this idea."

Natalie nodded silently. "I know you don't."

"And I would put up an argument, but, I know that you would just fight me back. Plus, you have been hunting this past year..." Dean finished, cringing slightly. He still didn't like that she had been doing that.

"Exactly." Natalie interrupted. "I have hunted werewolves before Dean. I can take care of myself."

Dean sat up in his chair and looked around the room, realizing that Sam was out at the car getting a few more things. "I'll tell you one thing...Sam seemed a little to eager to let you do this."

Natalie looked up at Dean, feeling her body tense with her agreement, though, she didn't want to express it. "I don't know." Natalie said, not wanting to go to much into it. "He just wants to get this done."

Dean let out a light scoff. "I am not to sure about that."

Natalie sighed heavily. "Dean. Let's not talk about this right now. We just need to get ready and go out there and get this thing."

The motel door opened and Sam walked in, forcing both Dean and Natalie to stop their conversation. Sam walked over to where they were sitting. "Are you all set?"

Natalie looked up at him and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. Got my gun loaded and my knife." She looked over at Dean quickly, but, just enough to see the tension in his face. "Should we go over the plan again?"

Sam gave her a shrug. "Might as well."

"Alright. I'll walk through the park, same pathway that the victims took. I'll have my phone ready, so that I can send the message to your phone. Once I do, you two come out and gank the thing."

"And what if something goes wrong?" Dean suddenly added.

Natalie looked over at Dean and then back at Sam, then simply shrugged. "Then I will kill it myself. Hence, why I am bringing my gun and knife." She said motioning at her gun on the table. "I've killed a few werewolves this past year...I think I'm good."

Dean shook his head and stood up from the chair. "I still don't like it."

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whether you like it or not, I'm doing this. We already went over it several times and I'm doing it, Dean."

Natalie turned around and picked up her gun, sliding into her belt line and double-checked to make sure that her knife was secured. Looking up at the boys she raised her arms up. "Can we go so that we can get this done?"

Dean nodded timidly and picked up his gun, and then his jacket before turning around and walked out the door. Natalie stood for a moment and looked over at Sam, who gave her a stare that made her feel uneasy. She shook off the feeling and picked up her jacket and headed out the door with Sam close behind her.

* * *

The three of them stared out the car windows, their eyes scanning over the park, looking for any kind of sign of the creature, though, they didn't get any. But, Dean was hoping that they would spot the thing so they wouldn't have to let Natalie use herself as bait.

Natalie sighed. "Okay, then. It's not coming out. Time for me to get out there." She quietly opened the car door and stepped out, taking a quick check to make sure she had her gun and knife.

Closing the door carefully, she walked over to the passenger door, as Sam rolled down the window. "Okay. So wait for my message. In the meantime, you two need to get ready."

Dean gave her a small nod. "Be careful. If anything goes wrong, we're coming in there. Screw the plan."

"Yeah, I know." Natalie said. She looked over at Sam, seeing an almost pensive look on his face as he stared at her.

"Be careful, Nad." Sam finally said.

Natalie gave him a small forced smile and nodded. She turned around and took in a breath, then began trodding her way towards the pathway. During that time, she began to contemplate Sam's words. The way he said them and the tone in his voice, it didn't set well with her. It was almost as if there was no...emotion in his voice.

Every time he looked at her, she had this chill go down her spine, and it wasn't the good kind. It felt like a warning. A nagging feeling, telling her that she needed to be careful. And it made her feel uneasy and confused. Why would she feel like that? Especially, when it came to Sam. Usually, she would feel comfortable and protected, whenever she was around him. And now, it was nothing but a form of coldness.

Even when she heard him and Samuel talking back in Illinois and everything that she heard put her on alert. Confronting Sam about it didn't really go the way she hoped it would.

_Maybe I'm just overreacting. I haven't even been around him that much. _Natalie thought to herself as she walked onto the pathway.

She looked ahead of her and took in a deep breath. The worn down pathway was surrounded by a dense forest of trees that blocked the moon from her view. The only light source was from a few street lights that surrounded the area.

Sliding her hands into her jacket pockets, Natalie began her walk down the pathway. _Just act casual._ She reminded herself, making sure not to let her alertness seep out to much. The wind began to pick up, blowing through the tree branches, creating an eerie rustling.

Only a few minutes into the walk, the faint sounds of footsteps, caused Natalie to halt in her steps. She remained silent and still, listening intently to the footsteps, which would stop only a few seconds after she would.

Natalie kept her attention on hearing for the footsteps as she began to walk again and the footsteps continued. She slowly pulled out her phone from her pocket and turned it on. She saw the message that was saved and she quickly pressed the send button and placed her phone back in her pocket.

As she looked back up, Natalie turned to the side, hearing footsteps that were being hidden behind the trees and they seemed to be almost circling her. She slowly backed up towards one of the tree behind her when she heard another set of footsteps right behind her.

Natalie quickly whipped around, seeing nothing but trees and darkness. _Where the hell are they? _She kept her focus on the spot in front of her, the footsteps slowly disappearing. Her brows furrow, as she began to debate whether she should follow where the footsteps were coming from.

Natalie looked around her, not seeing Dean or Sam coming, and she decided that in the meantime she would check it out. She slowly walked into the wooded area and she pulled out her phone to use it as light, since she didn't have a flashlight with her.

Continuing on through the area, Natalie slowly reached over and pulled out her gun, keeping it close to her. After walking for a short moment, she came to a small empty area in the middle of this area. She looked around her when the sound of something snapping came from behind her.

Natalie tightened her grip on her gun as she slowly turned around. A heavy force went across her face, sending her to the ground and in the process of falling she had accidentally shot off a round from her gun and her head hit against the trunk of a tree. Her head throbbed and her ears began to ring from the hit. She could feel something hot running down the side of her face and she knew that it was her blood.

Rolling onto her back, she could see the werewolf beginning to approach her. She quickly pushed herself up and realized that her gun was no longer in her grasp. In a quick act, she pulled out her knife and went to stab it in the chest when it took hold of her arm. Natalie kicked it in the leg, allowing its grip on her arm to loosen, then she threw an elbow hit into its stomach and then sliced a cut against its chest.

The creature let out a scream and had knocked the knife out of Natalie's hand during its fit. She stood in place, eyes staring wide at the creature as it finally recovered and glared at her.

"_Shit." _

Natalie quickly turned around and ran as fast as she could from the creature. The sound of impending footsteps were fast approaching her. Her heart was pounding, her chest was heaving from her panting and her legs were already beginning to numb. _Come on keep going. _She just needed to keep herself calm and focused on running.

Though she couldn't help thinking about what was taking Sam and Dean so long to get there. They should have been in position a little bit away, but, they should have seen everything that was going on. And now here she was, running from the werewolf who was now beyond pissed at her, no knife, no gun not even her phone. Nothing to defend herself with and no way to communicate with Dean and Sam.

Natalie came to a halt as she looked around her, knowing that she needed a moment of rest, but, she needed to get out of sight. Natalie quickly rushed over to one of the trees and hid behind it. The fast approaching footsteps came to a stop and she held in her breath, waiting for the creature to wander off.

Reaming silent, Natalie could hear the werewolf sauntering around, sniffing up at the air and letting out a few frustrated grunts. The creature let out one final huff before running off in one of the directions.

Natalie slowly moved around to the front of the tree, her eyes scanning around in the darkness for any sign of it. In a split second, she began to run back towards the direction where she had come from. She needed to find her weapons and phone and try to find Sam and Dean.

She could see that she was close to here she was before, when something grabbed the back of her jacket and threw her backwards, her back hitting against another tree and her body fell to the ground. Natalie pushed herself up weakly, feeling the blood flow from her head increase and she could feel herself becoming dizzy.

The werewolf walked over to her, grasping her by the neck and hoisting her up against the tree. Her hands clawed at his arm, trying desperately to get out of his grasp, but, the dizziness and the blurriness that was clouding her vision was forbidding her from doing much else.

It inched closer to her, taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent. It pressed its claws against her chest ready to rip it open when a gunshot rippled through the air. The werewolf let out a scream as it dropped Natalie, allowing her to slump to the ground.

Natalie slowly fell to her side, feel her body become overwhelmed by an intense chill and a powerful sense of exhaustion washed over her. Through her blurred vision, she could spot two people coming up, one of them shooting another around into the werewolf's chest, causing it to fall to the ground.

Natalie allowed her eyes to close, wanting nothing to do but sleep in this moment. She felt two hands cup her face and the voice that came along with it gave her a sense of peace.

"Hey, Nad." Dean said, tapping the side of her face gently. "Nad come on, keep your eyes open." Dean added, taking a brief look at her head wound.

"Dean...Sam..." Natalie groaned as the throbbing in her head soon returned.

"Nad, it's okay. Just don't talk." Dean said quickly.

"Dean...where...w-were..."

"Shh. Nad don't talk alright. Just take it easy. We're gonna get you out of here." Dean said. Glancing up at Sam, his gaze hardened. "I knew that this was a stupid idea."

Dean turned back to Natalie and slid his arm under her legs and the other behind her back, then lifted her up, adjusting his hold on her that so she was situated comfortably in his arms. "We gotta get her back to the motel. We'll come back to take care of this later." Dean said motioning at the dead werewolf.

Sam looked down at the creature quickly then gave his brother a nod. "Let's go then."

* * *

Natalie felt herself coming back to her senses and she could hear the soft, yet, firm whispering of two people, and she knew that it was Sam and Dean. She blinked her eyes open and slowly sat up, her palm reached up to her head and she hissed in pain.

"Hey. Take it easy." Dean's voice came through as he rested his hand on her shoulder.

Natalie took a minute to allow her eye sight to settle, creating a clear visual of Dean sitting next to her and Sam standing at the foot of her bed. She looked around confusingly, seeing that the sun was just beginning to rise. "How long was I out?"

"Couple of hours. We tried keeping you awake, but, we decided to just keep an eye on you." Dean explained. He leaned forward and gently pressed a few fingers to the side of her head, taking a look at her wound. "It still looks fine. Here." Dean offered a bottle of water, which Natalie took. "Drink that."

Natalie nodded. "Yes, sir." She opened up the bottle and took a few drinks from it. When she was finished, she looked over at Dean and Sam, seeing the looks on their faces. "What?"

Dean shook his head. "First off, I told you that it was a stupid idea using you as bait." Natalie rolled her eyes. "And second, why the hell would you wander off Nad?"

"Where the hell were you two?" Natalie asked, switching the subject around on them.

Dean looked at her a little confused. "What do you mean?"

Natalie let out a light scoff. "I sent the message to Sam's phone, just like we had planned." Natalie and Dean both looked at Sam, who didn't seem phased.

"I never got the message, Nad." Sam said.

Natalie furrowed her brows and her eyes narrowed for a brief second. "No...no, I pulled my phone out as soon as I heard the werewolf. I sent the message. I know I did."

Sam shrugged, his face adorned with what looked like genuine confusion. "Nad. I waited for it. I never got your message."

"We got into our position, waiting for your message. And as the minutes ticked by, I can tell you that I was getting antsy." Dean added.

Natalie shook her head confusingly, groaning at the pain in her head. "How did you guys find me?"

"We heard a gunshot and we took off running. The damn thing was howling and we followed the sound to this open patch where we found your knife, gun and phone. So we just continued on straight through and that's when we found you with the werewolf holding you by the neck. Guess you can say we got there just in time."

Natalie nodded at Dean's words, taking them in slowly. "Well, that entire plan just went wrong, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did. And we are never going to do something like that ever again, I don't care what you say Nad. Capiche?"

Natalie nodded and sighed at Dean's words. "Yeah, I get it."

"Good." Dean stood up from the bed. "I'm gonna take a shower. That means you get some more rest before we head out."

Natalie gave Dean a small salute, causing him to smirk as he disappeared into the bathroom. Natalie could feel an awkward silence fall between her and Sam, who was still standing at the foot of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

Natalie looked up at him, a little surprised that he asked her. "Fine, I guess. My head hurts. Other than that I'm fine."

Sam nodded silently, his eyes still remaining on her, which began to make her feel a little uneasy. "Good. Well, I'm gonna start loading things into the car."

"Okay." Natalie pulled her knees to her chest, watching as Sam began to gather up a few of his bags. As he headed for the door, Natalie couldn't help herself. "Hey, Sam?"

Sam stopped and turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "Are you okay? I mean, do you feel alright?"

Sam gave her a confused nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Nodding her head skeptically, she gave him a small smile. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure."

Sam gave her another confused nod, before walking out of the motel room.

Natalie sighed and looked over at the nightstand, seeing her phone, she picked it up and went to her messages. Clicking on Sam's name she saw the last message she had sent him and it said that it had been delivered. Natalie looked up, confused, and on the table near the door, she spotted Sam's cell phone.

She slowly got out of bed and shuffled walked over to the table and picked up the phone. After familiarizing herself with it, she found the messages and clicked on her name. Seeing the last message, Natalie could feel herself overcome with confusion and anger.

It was proof for her that there was something going on with Sam. That everything Dean told her was true. All of the uneasy feelings she had while being around him, the cold chill that ran down her spine, all of it, have now made sense to her.

Natalie shut off his phone and placed it back on the kitchen table. Looking out the motel window, she saw Sam situating the bags around in the car and although she was pissed, a sense of sadness fell over her. He wasn't the same person she knew a year ago. He wasn't the Sam who meant so much to her.

Natalie turned around and walked back over to the bed, hoping to get a little more time at sleeping and she silently hoped that it would help take the edge off of her anger and confusion. But, for some reason she couldn't stop thinking about the message. The message that she had sent to him...the one that he ignored.

_It's a go._

* * *

**So what did you all think?! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!_

_**Marloweee1856:**__ I do plan on writing through all of the seasons. As long as they keeping on pumping out new seasons, I will be writing them. I do admit, once I saw the clip for season ten, I immediately began to work out how I was going to put Nad into all of it. In fact, it was like that throughout all of season nine. But, yes, I will be writing all of the seasons :)_

**_frodofreakingbaggins:_**_ Someone has to look after Nad during this time :) I was also hoping to try and broaden Dean and Nad's friendship during Sam's soulless period. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"There was a case over in Michigan about gruesome killings...and it turned out to be a werewolf. But, we got the thing." Natalie said into her phone, pacing back and forth a little bit away from the car.

"_You didn't get hurt did you?" _Marina's voice came through the other end.

"Kind of. I almost got killed by the thing...but, Dean and...Sam...got there in time and killed the thing."

"_I swear Nad, you are more rebellious with hunting nowadays then you were a year ago." _

Natalie scoffed. "Well, I've been through a lot Mari. And I can't say that it's going to change anytime soon."

"_Well, what's it like being back on the road with Sam and Dean again?" _

"It's fine. Exactly how it was before...well at least almost the same. I mean, they both know that I'm still...upset, but, it's a lot better than I thought it would be."

There was a small silence on the other end of the line and Natalie was curious as to why her sister was so quiet. _"You don't sound to enthusiastic about it. Did something happen?" _

Natalie sighed, thinking how her sister could always tell when something was wrong. It was something that Natalie often wished Marina couldn't do. "Yeah, something did happen...but, it's not a big deal. It's something that I need to deal with myself."

"_Are you sure you don't want to tell me? Is it something that I can help you with?" _

"No, Mari. I know you are worried, but, trust me. Everything is fine. It's just a small thing that I need to handle. No big deal." Natalie finished, hoping her sister would accept her explanation.

"_Alright, if you say so." _

Natalie sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks. How is Emily doing?"

"_She's fine. Ethan dropped us off back at Aunt Clara's house a few days ago and Emily already misses you. She's been a little fussy since we came back." _

Natalie smiled, thinking back to her baby niece. "Well, give her a kiss from me and I promise I will try and visit soon."

"_Don't stress yourself out too much, Nad. Just come whenever you can." _The sound of Emily crying in the background came through the phone line. _"Hey, Nad, I need to go. I'll call you later." _

"Okay, Mari. Bye." Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call. Taking a deep breath, she slid the phone back into her pocket and turned around, making her way back over to the Impala, where Dean was leaning against the vehicle.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked, once she reached him.

"Just Mari." Natalie answered.

"Well, I just got off the phone with Bobby, told him about what happened back in Illinois." Dean said.

Natalie hesitated and shook her head. "So you really think there is something up with Sam?"

"I mean it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out, right? Bobby said that he was going to try and find something. Anything that could give us an explanation." Dean asked.

Natalie looked over at Sam, who was standing in line at a hot dog stand, her face and body tensing just by looking at him. All she could think about was how he lied about the message. Why would he do that? She wanted to know the answer, but, a part of her actually didn't want to know.

Dean furrowed his brows, seeing how tense Natalie got, and he followed her gaze over to Sam and then looked back over at her. "Nad?"

Natalie blinked and looked over at Dean. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright? You look a little...tense." Dean said, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

Natalie bit down on her lip, debating on telling Dean what happened back at their last job. The whole thing with Sam lying about the message. "Yeah, uh, I'm just a little bothered by something that happened back at the last hunt...with the werewolf." Dean nodded, turning his attention fully to her. "You remember when you asked me if I noticed anything different about Sam...and I said he seemed a little distant...but, I didn't think there was really anything wrong with him."

"Yeah. I mean like you said, you haven't been around him much to really come up with an answer." Dean said.

"Yeah. Well, now...I think I change my mind."

Dean looked at Natalie curiously. "Nad, what happened?" Dean saw Natalie hesitate, knowing that she was debating on telling him what happened. "Nad. Come on. Tell me."

"Okay, remember when we talked about what went wrong during our plan? And I said that I sent the message..."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, Sam said that he didn't get the message...but, really...he-"

"Hey." Sam walked up to them, handing over the food to both of them. "Have you tried calling Lisa again?"

Dean looked over at Sam, pushing his conversation with Natalie to the back of his mind and nodded. "Yeah, she didn't answer."

"Sucks." Sam answered bluntly. "You okay?"

Dean looked over at Sam and shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine. How are you?"

Natalie gazed over at Sam, her eyes staring him down at Dean's question. "Me? I'm fine." Sam answered and handed over a newspaper to Dean. "Check this out. Think it might be something."

Natalie walked over and stood next to Dean, looking down at the newspaper in his hands.

"Four people, out of nowhere, all in the last couple of weeks. What do you two say?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." Dean answered.

Natalie finished scanning the article and nodded. "I guess."

* * *

After she had done her own sweep of the house, Natalie leaned against the wall, looking at Sam who was talking with Olivia, one of the victim's sister. Dean was in the room behind where they were, taking his own look around the room.

"I don't understand. Why would federal investigators be interested in a suicide?" Olivia asked.

"Well, um...it's a new, more caring administration." Sam said.

"Well, I already told the cops. Jane was having a really bad day, so I did what any sister would do." Olivia began to play with her hair. "I tried to cheer her up, you know? Told her to hand in there."

Dean walked into the living room and stood next to Natalie, both of them casting glances at each other.

"You know what a 'tell' is?" Sam suddenly asked.

Olivia looked at Sam, confused. "Excuse me?"

"It's a poker term...for when you're bluffing. Like what you just did with your hair."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're lying." Sam answered.

Natalie and Dean both stare at Sam, surprised at how he was forcing his accusation on her.

"What?!" Olivia called out and looked over at Natalie and Dean.

"Tell us what you did." Sam added.

"Sam." Natalie quickly said, to try and get him to back down.

"Tell us what you did to your sister." Sam said once again. Natalie looked over at Dean, her brows furrowed in confusion and shock.

"Okay. You're right. I was lying." Dean and Natalie looked at Olivia, their eyes widening. "I wanted to tell her, 'I love you. I'm here for you.' But, what came out was...'You're a burden. Just kill yourself.' Who says that?! I couldn't stop!"

Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing how his face was adorned with accomplishment. There was something with how the way he looked that caused her to tense up once again. Just the way it made her feel, it sent a chill down her spine.

* * *

Dean, Sam and Natalie walked out of the house and made their way back over to the Impala. "Did you two see anything in the house?" Sam finally asked.

"No hex bags, no sulfur, no EMF." Dean looked over at Natalie. "What about you?"

"Nothing much. A tuba and an issue of Crochet Today." Natalie said.

"So, what, do you two think she was already kinda suicidal?" Sam asked.

"Maybe. If she is, then big sis's taxicab confession sends her over the edge." Dean added.

"Yeah, but, why would she even say something like that? I mean usually people can hold back what they want to say...well, at least most people. Olivia doesn't seem like someone who thought of her sister as a 'burden'." Natalie finished, stopping next to the car.

"Well, that's the one thing that we have to figure out." Dean added.

Natalie nodded and felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out. "Hello?...Yes. I'll be right there." Natalie ended the call and looked up at Sam and Dean. "There's been another one. I'm gonna go check it out."

"Let me drop you off in town then." Dean said.

"No. It's fine, I'll just walk. The town isn't that far from here."

Dean gave her a look. "You sure?"

"Yeah. You two head out. I'll call you once I have the details." Natalie finished and walked down the side of the street, back towards town.

* * *

Natalie had gone to the police station to talk with Dr. Connelly, who had committed the crime, but, he had hung himself before she had arrived. Now she was standing before a young woman, who had seen what had happened and was still clearly shaken by the ordeal.

"Can you explain to me what happened?" Natalie asked.

"I was helping Dr. Connelly with his appointment with Kenny and he asked me to go and retrieve gauze for the procedure. When I came back..." She took a deep breath. "...there was blood all over the place and he was...drilling his mouth."

Natalie closed her eyes briefly and nodded, cringing slightly. "And, did Dr. Connelly say why he did what he did?"

"He said that Kenny was saying...awful things."

Natalie furrowed her brows curiously. "What kind of things?"

The woman bit down on her lip. "He said that Kenny had...slept with his daughter, while she was over at his house."

Natalie's brows raised. "O-oh. And that's all he said. Nothing more."

"That's all that Dr. Connelly said."

Natalie nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

The woman gave Natalie a small nod and walked back into the police station. Natalie let out a sigh and pulled out her phone, dialing out Dean's number, then placed it to her ear. After a couple of rings, the call was finally answered.

"_You're on speaker, Nad." _

"Hey, so I just got done talking with the assistant to Dr. Connelly. I couldn't talk with him because, before I arrived, he had hung himself in his cell."

"_Whoah. That's unfortunate. What did you find out?" _

"All I know is that if someone said what I heard to my father, he would have done the exact same thing. Hell, I would have too. I mean, he drilled his patient to death."

"_Damn. Root canal from hell. It sounds like they were cursed, I mean it sounds like one, right? People are compelled to puke the truth all over everyone?" _Dean began to spill out theories.

"Curse sounds like the cause to me. But, I was gonna head over to the dentist's office, so if you two wanted to meet me there."

"_I'll meet you there, Sam is gonna head over to the morgue to check out the body." _

"Okay, I'll meet you there in ten." Natalie said, then ended the call and placed her phone back in her pocket then began to make her way over to the office.

* * *

Natalie stood outside, near the front entrance of the dentist office, waiting for Dean to arrive. The sound of the Impala soon roared down the road and she turned, seeing Dean parking the car near the curb on the street.

Dean got out of the car and quickly made his way across the street as Natalie walked over to meet him. "Hey." Dean said as they both made their way over to the door that led to the office.

After he made sure that no one was watching them, Dean opened the door, letting Natalie walk in first and then followed her. Once they reached the room, he lifted the police tape as they both walked under it.

Natalie walked in and made her way over to the chair that was still stained with blood and she immediately cringed at the amount of it. "She was not kidding when he drilled him to death." She commented as she looked over at Dean, who made a face at the mess on the chair.

They both made their way into Dr. Connelly's office and began to sift through his desk. Dean went through the desk drawers as Natalie scouted through the various papers and picked up a receipt from Harry's House of Horns.

"Hey, look at this." She handed the receipt over to Dean, who read it.

"This looks familiar." Dean said, pointing down at the small piece of paper.

"Yeah, I saw the name on Jane's calendar..."

"And there was a note about a dental appointment." Dean finished looking up at her.

"You think we should go and check out this place?" Natalie asked.

"Seems like a good idea." Dean said.

Dean and Natalie quickly made their way out of the office and walked out, closing the door and made their way over to the Impala. Dean stopped at the drivers side door and looked over at Natalie, who had opened the door and was about to get into the car, when he remembered something.

"Hey, Nad." Natalie paused and looked up at him. "What were you going to say to me earlier? About Sam."

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "Dean I don't think now is the time."

"You might as well tell me now. Because, I'm starting to get antsy just being around him. What happened?"

Natalie sighed and closed the door. "He lied, Dean."

Dean gave her a confused look. "About what?"

Natalie leaned her arms against the car. "When I said that I sent the message to him, and he said that he never got it...he lied, Dean."

Dean's expression soon filled with a grim confusion. "What? How do you know?"

"I was curious. So, I checked his phone and I saw my message." Natalie paused and let out a pained laugh. "Dean, he lied to me. He purposely ignored my message. He...he almost got me killed."

Dean broke his gaze on her and hung his head, silently taking in the information that he had just heard from her. Though she began to regret ever telling him this. It's not that she wasn't going to tell him, Natalie wanted to wait for the right time. And during the middle of a job is not exactly the ideal place in time to tell him something like this. If anything she wanted to wait until they were finished to drop the info on him.

Dean slowly shook his head and looked back up at her, not knowing what to say. He couldn't think of anything to say that would give her any kind of reassurance about what Sam had done. "Nad..."

"Dean. We can get into a full discussion about this later, but, we need to get this done. Okay? Please just leave it alone for now." Natalie begged and she could see the hesitant relent in his eyes.

"Come on, let's get to this shop." Natalie said, forcing her tone to turn light to lift the tension in the mood. She gave Dean a forced smile and then opened the door and slid into the front seat.

Dean tapped his fingers against the top of the car, feeling his head already beginning to fill with confusion. He believed what Natalie said because why would she lie to him about something like that? He was just having a hard time believing that Sam would actually do something that could have gotten Natalie killed. And that thought alone was making him become angry, even more angry than how he felt once he realized Sam watched him get turned.

Dean decided to leave it alone for now, but, there was no mistaken that he was going to find out what was wrong with Sam, no matter what it took. He and Natalie both deserved an explanation for all of this. He opened the car door and quickly slid in then turned on the engine and began to make his way to the shop.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Also, I will be trying to get as much up as possible before school starts again. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Dean and Natalie walked into the shop and made their way over to the counter. Spotting a man standing at the counter, Dean cleared his throat.. "Excuse me?" Dean spoke, causing the man to look up at them. "Are you the owner of this place?"

The man nodded his head. "Agents James and Conors." Dean said as both he and Natalie show their badges. "We were wondering if you recognise these two people." Dean presented two photos of Jane and Dr. Connelly.

Harry picked up the two photos and examined them for only a moment, before, setting them back down on the counter. "Jane and Dr. Connelly. Of course I know about them and I heard what happened. It's awful. So, what do I have to do with what happened?"

"Sir, both Dr. Connelly and Jane had something in relation to you...you are the only connection between them. Did they say anything to you by any chance?" Natalie asked.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry. Not really."

"So, you didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary?" Dean tried again only to have Harry shake his head once again. "Right. We were just fishing. Thanks." Dean and Natalie both turned around to leave the shop.

"Hey, by the way, how about my horn?" Harry suddenly asked, causing Dean and Natalie to turn back to him.

Natalie gave him a confused look. "I'm sorry. What?"

"The stolen horn?" Harry clarified.

Natalie looked over at Dean. "Right. Yeah. We're—we're working on it." Dean said.

"Well, I hope so. Thing's one in a billion."

Dean now seemed a little curious. "What makes it one in a billion again?"

"It's a museum piece. And near as anyone can tell, about a thousand years old." Harry pulls out a photo of the artifact.

Dean and Natalie walk back over the counter, both of them scanning over the image."Where's it from?" He questioned.

"No one knows."

"When did the item get stolen?" Natalie asked.

"About...two weeks ago. Same day that Jane died."

Dean paused and looked over at Natalie and she could see the pensive look on his face. Her brows furrowed and gave him a small shake of her head. 'What?' She mouthed to him.

He thought for a moment and then turned back to Harry. "Thank you for your time." Dean motioned for Natalie to follow. She gave Harry a small smile then turned around and left the store with Dean.

"What was that look for?" Natalie asked, as she walked beside with him. "Does that Horn mean anything to you?"

"Yeah, I think so. Not that long ago, Cas came to us, telling us about an angel named Balthazar who stole some weapons from heaven and were using them to exchange for people's souls. This Horn sounds like something Cas would be interested in. Plus, it might be the explanation as to why everyone is spilling the truth."

Natalie huffed and pursed her lips. "Wow. So, a lot has happened while I was gone then."

Dean remained quiet for a moment. "Yeah."

Natalie looked over at him, seeing that he was thinking about something else and she already knew what it was. "Dean. Don't let yourself get wrapped up over what I said."

"How can I not?" Dean asked. He stopped and took hold of Natalie's arm, causing her to look at him.

"Dean, just don't worry about it." Natalie said, trying to get him to let go of the subject.

"Sorry, I can't just get over it Nad. I mean he almost got you killed. You really expect me to just not think about it?"

Natalie huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I expect you to not worry about it right now. It's not the best time to talk about it, Dean."

"You say that Nad, but, I think now is probably the best time to discuss this."

"Dean we are in the middle of a job right now. Please, just drop it." Natalie practically begged.

"How can you ask me to do that Nad?" Dean asked, only to have her scoff and shake her head at his words. "Because I know how you are." He continued. "I recognise that act you put on whenever you try to hide something, when you try to hide how you really feel. And I can see you doing that right now."

Natalie pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek and closed her eyes. That was one of the things she didn't miss. That fact that Dean was always good at seeing past her veil. She hated that he wanted to talk about this right now. _Why can't he just wait?_

The silence between them continued on as Natalie remained quiet, going through her choices. Whether to talk about it now or continue to put it off. And it was something that Dean could see. No matter how hard she asked him, he wasn't going to let this go.

"Nad? This isn't something you would easily forget. Just tell me."

"Okay, fine!" Natalie suddenly called out, causing Dean to stare at her, a little taken back.

"You're right, I am pissed. I'm pissed because he lied about it and he ignored my message and because of that, I almost got killed. But, you know what, it's not that he almost got me killed that really gets to me, it's because that's something Sam wouldn't do. And you know what...that's not Sam. That's not your brother and he's most definitely not the guy I met over a year ago. You know when I offered to attract that werewolf out, he would have been persuading me to not do it. He would have made sure that we never went on with that plan. But, he...he didn't even hesitate. From what I saw he was more than eager to throw me out there. You know, I haven't been around him enough but, every time I'm near him, I get this uncomfortable feeling. Almost like he is this bomb waiting to expload. Just standing next to him sets me on edge. After what he did...to you and me...as far as I'm concerned, I'd much rather not be around him."

Natalie finally went silent, at first, not realizing what she had just said. But, seeing the look on Dean's face, she could feel the realization finally beginning to sink in. The first thing she felt was confusion. She was never someone who would just blurt out the truth like that, but, it was the truth. That was exactly how she felt about it.

Natalie let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair. "That, um. That wasn't what I wanted to say..." She finished weakly, knowing that Dean wasn't going to believe her.

"No. That's how you really feel. Isn't it?" He finally asked.

Natalie looked up at him, seeing the empathy pouring from his expression. She quickly wiped at her eyes then turned around and made her way back over to the Impala.

Dean watched Natalie walk over to the car, not even trying to say anything else to her. Though, he was slightly confused. Natalie never actually gave in that easily and if she did, she was always careful not to get to emotional over it. But, what he just saw, was her breaking down.

He felt that all of her anger was not only from what Sam did to her...but, everything else. Him and Bobby. All she had been through. She was letting it out. And he could feel his guilt eating away at him, feeling partially responsible for the hurt he saw in her eyes.

Dean cleared his throat and swallowed a couple of times, regaining his composure and slowly made his way back over to the car.

* * *

The warm water splashed against her face, running down her skin and dripped back into the sink. Taking in a few deep breaths, Natalie gazed into the mirror, seeing that were eyes were still red from her crying fit she had while staying in the bathroom. And she hated every minute of it. Now she hoped that washing her face would rid of the evidence.

As she continued staring at her reflection, her hands tightened around the edges of the sink and she closed her eyes. "Keep it together. Stop it. Stop." She whispered to herself, hoping it was enough to stop herself from breaking down anymore.

"_Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam, and you come for some stupid horn?!" _

Natalie's head tilted to the side once she heard Dean's voice and it sounded like he was talking with something. Grabbing the towel from the handle, she quickly patted her face, dropped the towel in the sink and walked out of the bathroom. Much to her surprise, she saw Castiel standing in front of Dean.

"You asked me to be here, and I came."

"I've been asking you to be here for days, you dick!" Dean called out.

Castiel gave Dean an apologetic look, but, soon his attention was focused on Natalie, who gave him a very faint smile. "Hello, Natalie."

"Hey, Cas." Natalie walked over to the table and sat down. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Castiel nodded. "Yes, it has. I have to say, it's nice seeing you back here with Dean and Sam."

Natalie faintly cringed at the mention of Sam. "Yeah...it's been...interesting, I can tell you that."

Castiel could sense the hesitation in her voice and he began to nod. "You both have noticed something off about Sam."

"Oh, yeah, you think?" Dean added.

"But, I didn't come about Sam because I have nothing to offer about him." Castiel said.

"Well, that's great, because for all we know, he's just gift wrap for Lucifer."

"No, he's not Lucifer." Castiel clarified.

"And how exactly do you know that?" Dean asked.

"If Lucifer escaped the cage, we'd feel it."

Natalie scoffed and raised her brows. "Well, then, if Lucifer isn't the answer, then what exactly is wrong with Sam then?"

"I don't know. Look, I'm sorry that I don't have answers for you two...really I am."

Dean scoffed. "What happened to you, Cas? You used to be human, or at least like one."

"I'm at war. Certain...regrettable things are now required of me."

Dean turned back to his laptop that had an article on the horn. "And, uh, Gabriel's Horn of Truth? That's a real thing?"

"You've seen it?" Castiel questioned.

"Yeah, we think it's in town. Something's forcing people to..." The sound of wings fluttering appeared and Castiel was no longer in the room. "Oh, you...well, then, you're welcome you son of a bitch."

Natalie leaned back against her chair and let out a sigh. "It's not the Horn fo Truth." Castiel's voice appeared once again.

Dean looked over at him. "What are you talking about? You were gone for like two seconds. Where did you look?"

"Everywhere."

"Right. Well, nice seeing you, anyways."

"Dean."

"What?"

"About Sam. I...I don't know what's wrong with him, I really don't. But, I do want to help. I'll make inquiries." Castiel said, before leaving both of them in silence.

"Yeah. Thanks." Dean said. He turned around and grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Natalie finally asked.

"Out. You wanna come?" Dean asked, turning back to her.

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I'm fine."

Dean stood near the door, feeling like he needed to say something to her, but, nothing was coming to his mind. "I'll be back then." He said then walked out of the room.

* * *

Natalie could feel something shaking her gently by the shoulder, gradually pulling her out of her slumber. Her eyes blinked open and she saw Dean looming over her, trying to get her to wake up.

"Hey. Come on, Nad." Dean spoke gently.

Her eyes closed again as she slowly pushed herself up from the bed and swung her legs to the side and stood up. Over on the table, she could see a cat skull and a small box and her eyes widened in confusion. "What's with the remains over there?"

Sam looked up at Natalie. "Found it in the home of one of the suicide victims."

Natalie nodded and then shook her head. "Okay. And? I don't think I'm catching on."

Sam sighed and looked back in the box. "Well, we have a cat skull, uh, grains of paradise seed, devil's shoestring. Mix them well, you got yourself a summoning spell."

Natalie hummed. "So, like a summoning for a demon or, what?"

Sam let out a laugh. "No. Here." He turned his laptop for her to see and she walked over to the table, though kept a small distance between her and Sam. "Summoning for a God, specifically, Veritas, Goddess of Truth. Corey, the victim, was so desparate for the truth about her boyfriend's cheating heart, she went digging around. Nothing panned out, so we went looking for a different kind of help."

"Opened a dor that she couldn't close." Dean added.

Natalie shook her head. "Why can't people just leave these things alone?"

"Yeah, but now, anyone in town who asks aloud for the truth invokes Veritas."

Natalie huffed. "That's what happened earlier." She said, directing it towards Dean, who nodded.

Sam looked at them. "What?"

"Nothing." Natalie shook her head. "So, basically, ask for the truth and you get hit with it, hard enough to where you kill yourself."

"Basically. You kill yourself and she gets her tribute." Sam said.

"So, all that 'tribute' vanishing from the morgue. What do you think, uh, Soylent Green situation?" Dean asked.

"Gods got to eat, too. Which means we got to take her out or you're on the menu."

"Alright, well, what do we know, besides crazy cat lady?"

"Well, dogs are her achilles heel."

Dean hummed. "Naturally."

"And she was a pretty hands on goddess back in the day. Her thing was coming down from the mountain to speak truth to the masses. She wanted more than tribute. She wanted to be worshipped."

Natalie scoffed. "She seeks out for to much attention."

"Well, what is the 21st century version of speaking truth to the masses?" Dean questioned.

Natalie stared at the computer screen, her mind searching through various options when her mind finally clicked. "It's simple." She said, turning to Sam and Dean. "Who do we go to when we want to know what's going on in our town, or even the world? The news."

* * *

A laptop is perched on a chair as Sam, Dean and Natalie sit on the bed, watching various footage from a show called 'Frank Talk'. This went on for quite sometime. Chaning out finshed videos for another one and it was time consuming and not to mention, boring. Natalie had never felt this bored in a while, not since she had to stay at Bobby's after she got shot.

"_I'm Ashley Frank, bringing you Frank talk." _

Sitting on the bed, Dean and Natalie drank the coffee Sam had gone out to get them, continuing their watching of the footage. "She's creepy." Dean spoke up. "I mean, the hair alone. I don't know. Maybe there's nothing here."

Sam sighed and began to increase the video speed. "Maybe."

Natalie groaned and laid back on the bed, setting her coffee down on the ground and closed her eyes. As the minutes ticked by, the video watching continued, causing Natalie and Dean to get up every once in a while, though, Sam kept in the same place, hardly moving an inch.

Dean sat at the table with Natalie sitting next to him. She finally turned to him. "Hey. You didn'y say anything to him...did you?"

Dean looked over at Natalie and shook his head. "No. Are you alright, though?"

Natalie tapped her fingers against the table as she looked back over at Sam. "You already know the answer to that."

"Hey. Check this out." Sam said, pausing the video.

Natalie and Dean get up from the table and walk over to the laptop, seeing that Ashley's eyes were glowing. "Wait, zoom in." Dean said.

Sam quickly magnifies the image and the glow in her eyes were even clearer. "Well, then." Natalie said. "I'm thinking she might be our Goddess."

* * *

Dean parks the Impala outside of a huge house, one that Natalie couldn't help but admire for a moment. "Looks pretty normal, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I', sure inside it's chock full of creep." Dean commented. Dean picks up his knife and looks at Sam, then Natalie. "You two ready?"

"Yep." Sam held up a jar that was killed with a dark red substance.

"And that's?" Dean began to questioned.

"Dog blood."

Natalie stared at the jar in his hands. "Oh my god."

"Do I even want to know where you got that?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Probably not." He said, opening the jar and dipped his knife in. Handing the jar towards Natalie, she dipped her knife in and then pulled it out. Dean then quickly did the same thing.

"Okay. Let's go." Dean said.

The three of them got out of the car and walked across the street towards the front door. Sam pulled out his lock picks and unlocked the door with ease. They quietly crept into the house, gazing into various rooms and found nothing that would be considered abnormal.

"So, where's all the creep?" Sam quietly commented.

The sound of tiny feet pattering against the hardwood floor caught their attention and they turned to look, just in time to see a cat scurrying down a flight of stairs. They followed the cat and soon found themselves in a different room. The cat is sitting on top of a gurney, licking at a bloodied corpse.

Natalie covered her mouth, keeping down the bile she felt threatening to rise up. _That's disgusting. _In the middle of the room, on a meat hook, a bleeding and gutted torso hangs and another body lies on another gurney.

"Good. You three came for dinner."

Sam, Dean and Natalie turn around, seeing Ashley standing before them. She quickly waved her hand, hurling Dean and Sam towards the hanging torso, while Natalie's body hit against one of the columns. The three hunters fall to the ground, lying unconscious.

* * *

Natalie feels herself slowly waking up and as she tried to movie, she finds that her hands are tied behind her back. She looks in front of her, seeing Sam and Dean tied up as well. Looking over, Natalie sees Veritas placing their knives into a drawer.

"Sit tight. You're up next." She said, turning to see that the three of them are now awake.

Sam pulls out his switchblade from his sleeve and looks over at Dean, sending him a look. Dean averts his attention from Sam to Veritas who opens the mouth of one of the bodies and pulls out the tongue and took a bite out of it. Both Dean and Natalie silently gagged, making a face of disgust.

"The tongue...is the tastiest part. It's where the lies just roll off." She said, taking another bite. "I can't wait to eat yours. I mean, I've seen liars before, but you three? Oh boy, it's gold standard." Veritas puts down the tongue and walks over to Dean.

"Point of professional pride." Dean commented.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, Dean. You know what happens when you base your life on lies, right? The truth comes along and...so while you've still got your tongue, God knows you've got an earful." She slowly positions herself next to him and sits down. "I think it's your turn to spill some. How about we play a little truth or truth? What should we ask Dean first, hmm? Something personal about you." Her eyes flicked over to Sam. "Hey, Dean, I'm curious. What do you really feel about your brother?"

Natalie looked at Dean, seeing the hesitation in his eyes. "Better now. As of yesterday, I wanted to kill him in his sleep. I thought he was a monster. And after what Nad told me what he did..." Natalie looked over at Sam, seeing the confusion in his eyes. "...I really wanted to kill him."

"And now what do you think?"

"At first I wasn't to sure. I was confused. But, now, he's just acting like me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the gig." Dean said, looking over at Natalie seeing the confusion in her eyes. "You're covered in blood until you're covered in your own blood. Half the time, you're about to die. Like right now. I told myself I wanted out...that I wanted a family."

"But you were lying."

"No. But what I'm good at is slicing throats. I ain't a father. I'm a killer. And there's not changing that. I know that now." Veritas smiles and pats Dean on the shoulder and looks over at Natalie.

"And what about you Natalie? I know it must have been hard this past year. And it must have been really hard finding out what these two did to you."

Natalie looked at Dean and Sam and bit down on her lip. "I was pissed. Beyond that actually. For a while, I actually hated them. I felt betrayed. I couldn't believe that they would actually keep something like that from me. I know they said they did it for me and I actually started to believe it, but, deep down..."

"Deep down, what?" Veritas pressed for her to continue.

"There will always be this broken piece of trust. This feeling of bitter betrayal. It's like everytime I look at them, I just get really angry...and I can't help that feeling. And I don't think it's something that will go away." Natalie finished and saw the hurt and guilt in Dean's eyes and she could feel her mind beginning to break down.

Veritas stood up and walked past Natalie, giving her a small pat on the head, only to have Natalie move away from her touch. "So, Sam walking back into both of your lives must have been a relief. Hmm?" She knelt down in front of Sam and knelt down next to him. "And how do you feel about the band getting back together, Sam?"

"Look...what we do is hard. But...we watch out for each other." Dean looks over at Natalie, gaining her attention, silently communicating a plan with her. "We have always looked out for each other. That's how it's always been. That's the truth."

Veritas glared at Sam, evidently confused. "No. No, it's not."

"You said yourself...I can't lie." Sam said.

"How are you doing that? That's not possible. You're lying to me!" She called out, standing back up. Dean and Natalie stopped and looked over at Sam and Veritas, confused by the panic in her voice.

"No, I'm not!" Sam defended.

"What are you?" She questioned and then looked over at Dean and Natalie. "What is he?" Dean and Natalie switch their gazes between Sam and Veritas.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sam added.

"Really? I doubt that. I doubt anything that comes out of your mouth right now. You're not human."

"What?" Both Dean and Natalie questioned.

Veritas looks over at them, surprised. "You didn't know that? Now, that I believe."

Sam finally cuts through his ropes and tosses the knife over to Dean before grabbing one of the blood stained knives. Dean quickly cuts through his binds and rushes over to Natalie.

"No, just go kill her." Natalie said.

Dean puts the knife into her hand and she went to work at cutting the ropes tied around her hands. Once she finally cuts through the rope she stands up and looks over, just in time to see Sam stab Veritas with the blood stained knife and her body slumped to the floor.

Natalie lets out a sigh, but, looks over to see Dean wielding a knife towards Sam. She slowly makes her way over to him. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"It's not him." Dean said in a low tone.

"Dean, it's me." Sam said, trying to assure him,

"You are not my brother." Dean said, backing Sam up around a basin.

Sam raised his hands up to his brother. "Just listen."

"What are you?!" Dean barked out, loud enough to cause Natalie to jump.

"I'm me, Dean. Look, please, just let me explain."

"Why the hell should I believe anything you say?" Dean questioned.

"Okay, okay. You want the truth? Here it is. God's honest." Sam relented. Dean stopped in front of him with Natalie standing behind him and the knife still raised against Sam. "She was right. There's something wrong with me, really wrong. I've known it for a while. I lied to you. Yeah. And...I let you get turned by that vamp. Because I knew there was a cure Dean, and we needed in that nest! I knew you could handle it."

"Handle it? I could've died! I could've killed Ben!" Dean yelled out. "Oh! Not to mention the fact that you ignored her message." Dean saw Sam's brows furrow. "Yeah, I know about that. You almost got Nad killed." Dean seethed.

"I know. And that should stop me cold. But I—I just don't feel it." Sam explained.

"You what?"

"Ever since I came back, I am a better hunter than I've ever been. Nothing scares me anymore. Because I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think...I need help."

Dean holds his stance, not knowing whether to trust him or not. Eventually, he lowers the knife and turns to look at Natalie, who looked just as shocked about this as he was. After putting down the knife, he turned back towards Sam and then punches him.

Natalie jumps at the action and watches as Dean looms over Sam, punching him repeatedly in the face. As the punching continued, Natalie could herself being overwhelmed by the sight. Without thinking, Natalie rushed over and grabbed Dean's arm.

"Dean! Stop it!" She called out, causing Dean to pause and look at her. "Stop. We need to figure out what's wrong with him. Please, stop." She begged. Even though Sam was messed up, she couldn't bear to watch Dean beat him any longer.

Dean slowly nodded and remained silent. He knew that her watching this wasn't easy and during his fit, he had almost completely forgotten she was standing right behind him. But, he could still feel his rage bubbling inside of him. He turned back to Sam and yanked him up, then threw one last punch across his face.

* * *

**So! What did you all think? How did you like Nad's little confessions? Dont' forget to leave me a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Leaning against the dresser, Natalie slowly tapped her finger against her arm as Dean paced back and forth in front of her. She looked over at Sam, who was still unconscious and tied up in a chair, his face was bruised and bloodied from Dean's attack.

"Come on, Cas." Dean's voice brought her attention back over to him. "Sam is in bad shape. We need you down here."

Silence followed Dean's words when the sound of wings interrupted it and Dean and Natalie looked over, seeing Castiel looking at them, his back facing Sam.

"I got your message. What's wrong with him?" Castiel asked.

Dean and Natalie remained silent and raised their arms, pointing over at Sam. Castiel turned around and walked over to him, his eyes narrowing at his condition. As he began to examine him, Sam slowly began to regain consciousness.

"You're right. He does look terrible." Castiel said and looked back at Dean. "You did this?"

Sam blinked his eyes open and looked up at Castiel, his brows furrow as his vision began to clear. "Cas? What's..." Sam tried to move only to find out that his hands were tied behind a chair. Castiel reached forward and placed his hand against the side of his face. "What..let me go."

"Has he been feverish?" Castiel asked.

"Have you?" Dean asked again as Sam remained quiet.

"What. No. Why?"

Castiel looked over at Natalie and Dean. "Is he speaking in tongues?" He focused his attention back to Sam. "Are you speaking in tongues?"

Sam shook his head. "What, no. Are...are you diagnosing me?"

"You better hope he can." Dean added.

"You really think that this is—'

Dean slowly walks over to Sam. "What you think there's a clinic out there for people who just pop out of hell wrong? He asks, you answer. Then you shut your hole. You got it?"

Natalie leaned away from the dresser and walked over to Dean, standing next to him. "How much do you sleep?" Castiel asked.

Sam looked at him and hesitated. "I don't."

Confused, Natalie let out a scoff. "Wait, you mean that you don't sleep...like at all?"

"Not since I got back."

Natalie and Dean share a look. "And it never occurred to you that there might be something off about that?!" Dean yelled.

"Of course it did, Dean...I just never told you." Sam answered.

Castiel went and stood next to Sam as he looked over at Dean and Natalie, enabling both of them to see that he was considering something.

"What?" Dean asks.

"Sam...what are you feeling now?" Castiel asked, looking down at him.

Sam let out a small laugh. "Well, I feel like my nose is broken."

"No, that's a physical sensation. How do you feel?" Castiel asked again, his voice had hardened slightly.

"Well, I think..."

"_Feel." _

"I...don't know." Sam answered.

"You don't know how you feel. What does that even mean?" Natalie asked, more herself than anyone else.

Castiel looks over at Natalie and Dean and proceeds to take off his belt, before, turning to face Sam again. "What, uh..." Sam begins to speak.

"This will be unpleasant." Castiel said as he folded his belt once and held it towards Sam's mouth. "Bite down on this." Sam does so and Castiel places one hand on his shoulder. "If there's someplace that you find soothing, you should go there. In your mind."

Natalie stared at Castiel, worried at what he was doing. "Cas...what are you..." Castiel suddenly shoves his hand into Sam's chest. The action caused Sam to groan in pain and his back arched several times and his neck began to almost glow with a redness that lit up his veins. Natalie couldn't help herself as she stepped towards them only to have Dean grab her arm, keeping her back.

Castiel finally pulls his hand from Sam's chest, his breathing was heavy and his pained groans slowly diminished. Turning around, he saw Dean and Natalie giving him expectant, yet, confused looks as to what he just did.

"Did you find anything?" Dean was the first to ask.

"No." Castiel answered, setting his belt down on the bed.

Natalie shrugged. "So, is that good or what?"

"I'm afraid not. Physically, he's perfectly healthy."

"Then, what?" Dean asked.

"It's his soul. It's gone."

The words took a while to sink into their minds when Natalie finally scoffed. "Wait...did you just say that he has no soul?"

Dean ran a hand down his face and laughed. "Can you just run through it one more time? What do you mean?"

Castiel turned fully towards Natalie and Dean. "Some how when Sam was resurrected, it was without his soul."

"So, then where is it?" Dean asked.

"My guess is...still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer."

Dean stared Castiel for a moment and then looked over to his brother. "So, is he even still Sam?"

His question caused both Natalie and Castiel to look at Sam as well. "Well, you pose an interesting philosophical question." Castiel said.

"Well, then just get it back."

"Dean."

"Well, you pulled me out."

"It took several angels to rescue you, and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference, a big difference. It's not possible."

Natalie shook her head. "No. Come on, Cas. There has to be something that we can do. I mean he..." She looked over at Sam and sighed. "We can't just leave him like this."

Castiel nodded. "I understand Natalie. But, there is no way to get his soul out without some sort of complication."

"So are you guys going to untie me?" Sam voice cut through their conversation.

"No." Dean was quick to answer.

"Listen, I'm not gonna—'

Dean turned to his brother and walked towards him. "Sam, how the hell am I supposed to let you out of this room?"

"Dean, I'm not some psycho. I didn't want you to get hurt. I was just trying to stop the vamps. And Nad, I didn't want her to get hurt either, but, I knew she would have been able to handle herself."

Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah. Because that thing wasn't about to kill her by the time we got there."

Sam sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. I am. It won't ever happen again. Please let me go."

"You're kidding, right?"

Sam shrugged and looked around him. "Well, what are you gonna do, just keep me locked up in here forever?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Okay, fine, look, I get it, Dean. I was wrong. But I'm telling you I'm trying to get right. It's still me."

Natalie stared at Sam. "Is it really?" She asked doubtfully.

Sam looked over at her. "Yes it is. So please, just let me go."

Dean gave Sam a look and shook his head. "No way in hell." He said as he turned back to Castiel and Natalie.

"I didn't want it to come to this." The three of them look over at Sam as he stood up from his chair, pulling the ropes off of his arms. "You're not gonna hold me, Dean—not here, not in the panic room, not anywhere. You two are stuck with the soulless guy, so you might as well work with me. Let's fix this."

"We're gonna be watching every move you make." Dean said as he stood in front of him.

"Fine. Sounds about right to me."

Dean nodded silently. "Cas, clean him up." Dean turned back towards Natalie, who gently pulled him to the side.

"Dean. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Natalie asked, making sure to keep her voice low.

"What else are we supposed to do Nad? Clearly, we can't keep him in anywhere because he will find a way out. Might as well just work with it."

Natalie shook her head skeptically. "Dean. I don't like this. After everything he did..."

"I know, Nad. But, think about it. It's practically Sam...he's just missing a very important piece."

Natalie bit down on her lip and shook her head, feeling skeptical about the whole thing. Dean saw the look in her eyes and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Nad. I know. You don't trust him. I don't either. But, we need to get his soul back, whatever it takes. And I can't do it alone."

All of the doubt that she was currently feeling was slowly beginning to diminish. First off, they finally found out what was 'wrong' with Sam and although it was an answer, it still left her slightly confused. _How could he not have a soul? _The words soulless and Sam didn't sound right together, because, Natalie _knew _what Sam was really like. He was compassionate, understanding and protective. Now, he was pretty much an emotionless body suit, walking around. This type of thing was never something Natalie thought she would experience.

The hand on her shoulder gave a reassuring squeeze which brought her out of her little daze. "Nad, are you with me on this?" Dean asked.

Natalie sighed, nodding her head. "Yeah. I'm with you Dean." The look of relief on his face was enough to her that she had made the right decision and she gave him a small smile.

"Dean?" He gave her a nod to continue. "About what I said earlier...I just wanted to say—'

"Nad. It's alright. You don't have to explain it to me." Dean assured her.

"No, but, I just wanted you to know that...I do trust you. No matter what happens, that will never go away Dean."

Dean nodded. He didn't need to convey his thanks verbally because Natalie could see it in his eyes. "Alright." Dean said, turning back towards Sam. "If we're gonna figure out what happened to your soul, then we need to find out who yanked you out."

"And are you sure that you don't know who brought you back?" Natalie asked.

"No idea."

"Then we need to start a list. If it's so hard to spring someone out of the box, then who's got that kind of muscle?" Dean questioned.

"I don't know." Castiel said and looked over at Sam. "You said that you have no memory of your resurrection."

"I woke up in a field. That's all I got."

"I actually do have one." Sam said.

Natalie looked at him expectantly. "And what is that?"

"Samuel."

* * *

Dean, Sam and Natalie get out of the Impala which was parked outside of a worn down building. Her eyes scanned over the area and she felt a small shiver. Looking over at Dean, she went and stood next to him. "Are you sure that I should be here? I mean you and Sam, sure, but...me?"

Dean looked at Natalie and gave her a small pat on the back. "It's fine, Nad."

Sam leads the way to the front door and opens it, allowing Dean and Natalie to follow. After a short walk through a few rooms, they came upon what looked like the place where everyone always met up. She was proven right as a group of hunters were getting ready for something.

A man walked up to them. "Hey Sam." His eyes shifted over to Dean and his expression fell slightly. "Ahh. Dean."

Dean gave him a forced smirk. "Hello, Newman."

Newman scoffed and looked over at Natalie, tilting his head to the side. "And I'm guessing you are... Natalie, right?" Natalie's furrowed at him. "Sam here has talked about you a lot during the year...both of you."

"Yeah, I've heard that already coming from Samuel." Natalie replied.

"Speaking of him, where's the man?" Dean asked.

Sam appears in a doorway that led to a separate room and he clears his throat. "You three. Come right on in."

Dean, Natalie and Sam walk past Samuel into the room and turn to him as he closed the door. "Need to ask you a few questions." Dean said.

Samuel walked back over to his desk and sat down in his chair. "What's wrong?"

"The day you got back, what happened?" Dean questioned.

"We've been over this." Samuel blatantly replied.

"Well, recap it for our wingman." Dean motioned over to Castiel, who was standing behind Samuel.

Samuel eyed him and hummed. "This Castiel? You're scrawnier than I pictured."

"This is a vessel." Castiel spoke, looking down at himself. "My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler Building."

"Alright, alright, quit bragging." Dean interrupted. "So, you were dead, and..."

"And, _pow_, I was on Elton ridge. Don't know how. Don't know why. I got nothing to hide, guys."

"Well, you mind if Cas here double-checks?" Dean asked, though Castiel had already lifted his jacket sleeve.

Samuel recoiled slightly. "What the hell is he going to do?"

Dean shrugged. "Just a little check up."

Samuel stared at Dean, then relaxed in his chair as Castiel shoved his hand into his chest. He made only a small attempt to hold back his screams before they finally slipped out. Natalie cringed faintly, even though she didn't expect it to phase her at all since she had gone through it with Sam not to long ago.

Castiel finally withdraws his hand just as someone bursts through the door, startling everyone except for Samuel and Castiel. "Whoah! It's okay." Sam said.

"What the hell?" The man stared at the group confusingly.

"Angel cavity search." Dean stated.

"I'm fine, Christian." Samuel said, still regaining his breath. "Just give us a minute."

"But—'

"Just give us a minute." Samuel said once again. Christian gave the room one last glance before, reluctantly, closing the door.

"What the hell was that?" Samuel breathed out.

"His soul is intact." Castiel rolled down his sleeve.

"What? Of course I have a—' Samuel paused and looked over at Sam. "What's going on, Sam?"

"Whatever dragged me out...left a piece behind." Sam said. "Did you know?"

"No, but, I...I knew it was something. You're a hell of a hunter, Sam, but...the truth is, sometimes you scare me."

Natalie's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you noticed something was off, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Samuel said, but, by the look on Natalie's face he knew that she didn't buy it. "So, what's the deal here? How do we fix this? How do we get his soul back?"

"We don't know yet. But, we have to get it back." Dean answered.

"Well, I'm here to help, of course. What leads you guys working on?" Samuel asked.

"Nothing but a bunch of dead ends." Sam replied.

Samuel sighed. "Well, then, we'll just have to dig."

"I have to get back." Castiel said, interrupting them.

"You're leaving?" Dean asked, his brows creasing.

"I'm in the middle of a civil war."

Dean nodded. "Well, then, you better tear the attic up, find something to help Sam."

"Of course. Your problems always come first. I'll be in touch." Castiel said before, finally, disappearing.

"Would've asked him to stick around for a beer." Samuel commented.

"So, what's with the book club outside?" Dean motioned back at the door.

"Putting together a hunt."

Dean stared at him for a moment. "That's a lot of guys for one hunt."

"You found him, didn't you?" Sam suddenly asked.

"Who?"

"He's got a lead on the alpha vamp."

"Do you?" Dean looked at Samuel.

"Maybe. Yeah."

"How did you track him down?" Dean asked.

"We're good."

Dean scoffed. "That's all I get? We're good?"

"When is the run taking place?" Sam was quick to ask.

"Dawn."

"Why didn't you call me?"

Samuel hesitated and Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "It's because of me. You don't trust me very much, do you? Especially when it comes to big game like this."

"That's not true."

Dean shrugged. "Okay then. We're in...the three of us."

"No offense, but—'

"So you don't trust me."

"No." Samuel said. "I just don't know you...you and Natalie. Not like I know Sam."

"Alright. You call the plays then. 100%. Nad and I...we're here to listen." Dean said and looked back at Natalie, who nodded.

Samuel let out a small laugh. "Since when?"

"Big daddy bloodsucker? I ain't gonna miss that. But, this is your deal. Okay? I get it. I'll follow your lead, we both will. I trust you."

Samuel nodded and thought about it for a moment. "Okay, fine. Both of you be ready."

* * *

"I don't trust him." Dean said as they walked out of the building. Once they reached the car, he turned to Sam and Natalie. "Dude's hiding something."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I can feel it. And if you weren't Robo-Sam, you'd feel it, too. What about you, Nad?"

Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "He seemed a little hesitant on a few things. I say that he probably knows something we don't."

"Huh."

Dean looked over at Sam. "What?"

"Just...you. Saying you don't trust family."

"Look, we hang close, we blend in, we see what we can pick up."

"You think Samuel's connected to this whole soul thing?"

Natalie bit down on her lip. "But, why would he hide something that has to deal with your soul? I mean, what is it to him?"

Dean shook his head. "Not sure. But, he's the only lead we got. So let's just see what we can get from him."

* * *

**Hope you all liked it! Don't forget to drop me a review!**

**Now onto the thing I wanted to show you all. My friend read through my stories and just yesterday she sent me this very simple edit that she made of Nad and Sam, nothing over the top. I'll put the link up on my profile so you all can see it (it's easier that way). Please, please, please, check it out and l****et me know what you guys think of it! Xx**


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Don't forget to check out the edit my friend made, link on my profile._

_frodofreakingbaggins: At the beginning of this chapter, in a way you kind of get to see what he has said about her, but, it won't go into to much detail. I feel like since he is soulless there wouldn't be much to what he has said about her._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

* * *

The voicemail came through for the third time and Natalie sighed, as the beep went off. "Hey, Aunt Clara. Um, I'm guessing you are back on the road looking for the demon. I just wanted to call in, see how you were doing. Uh...I'm fine." Natalie paused and then let out a pained laugh. "Actually, I'm not. Quite a bit has happened and...i don't know, I just need to talk about it. I don't want to bother Mari with any of this. So...I guess just call me back whenever you can. Okay, talk to you soon."

Natalie ended the call and placed the phone back in her pocket and looked up at the sky, then took in a breath. Dean was inside doing only god knows what, most likely getting into some kind of trouble, while Sam was, actually she really didn't know what he was doing. He just kind of sauntered off, but, it didn't really bother her much. She felt a lot more at ease when he wasn't around her, which was the only thing that upset her.

Turning around, Natalie walked back over to the Impala and when she looked up, she spotted a woman standing near the building entrance, looking at her. At first, Natalie felt her brows furrow at the sight, but, then she soon relaxed and continued her walk over to the car and leaned against the driver side door.

Looking back over, Natalie saw the woman making her way over and she began to think why she was coming over here. Natalie had never actually spoken to her, but, she had seen her earlier when they arrived to talk with Samuel.

The woman finally came to a stop, standing next to Natalie, she eyed for a moment then stuck her hand out towards her. "I never got the chance to actually speak with you. I'm Gwen."

Natalie stared at Gwen then looked down at her hand, before taking it into her own. "Nice to meet you, Gwen. I'm-"

"Natalie." Gwen answered for her, which made Natalie's eyes widened slightly. "I know who you are."

Natalie huffed out a laugh and dropped her hold on Gwen's hand, sliding her own hand back into her jacket pocket. "Let me guess. Sam?" She asked look back at her.

Gwen shrugged and nodded. "Yep."

"That's no surprise. It's literally the same thing that everyone else here seems to say." Natalie responded.

Gwen pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "It is a the truth though. Usually when he would reference something it would either involve you or Dean, and sometimes both."

Natalie nodded and bit down on her lip, suddenly becoming curious about this. "Well, that's nice to know." She said, her tone dripping with a faint sarcasm. "Considering..." Natalie stopped and shook her head.

Gwen raised her brows at this. "I'm guessing there's some tension going on with you and Sam."

"It's not just Sam and I...it's." Natalie scoffed. "I'm sorry, I don't really feel like just...pouring out all of this. I mean I don't even know you. No offence."

Gwen shrugged it off. "None taken. Just thought I would try and spark up a conversation."

Natalie sighed and hung her head for a brief moment. "I'm curious." She said, looking over at Gwen. "What did he say about me?"

"Not much actually. With you, he seemed to be intent on making sure what he said about you wasn't too much. But, when I asked him who you were, he just said that you were a close friend."

Natalie felt her expression turn somber at this and she pursed her lips. "That's all he said about me. That I was a close friend...nothing else." Gwen nodded in response.

Natalie painfully sighed and slowly shook her head, but, it didn't surprise her as much as it hurt. She knew now that Sam was soulless, so of course he wouldn't go into detail about them. But, that didn't cushion the hurt that she felt.

"That's great. That's just...great." Natalie managed to finally answer, causing Gwen to stare at her questioningly.

"Are you okay?" Gwen finally asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Natalie replied.

Gwen stared at Natalie skeptically, knowing that there was something Natalie was thinking about that she wasn't telling her. Though, she wasn't going to go prodding around for the answer. After all, like Natalie said, they didn't know each other. Natalie wasn't comfortable with telling her anything and fortunately, Gwen wasn't intent on asking her anything else.

The silence that was between them was becoming deafening to Natalie and she decided to turn the subject around. "So, um, are you like a friend or relative?"

"Distant cousin, I guess you could say. From their mom's side." Gwen answered.

Natalie hummed in response and nodded her head. "And what about you? Gwen asked. "I mean I hope I'm not intruding onto something you don't want to talk about, but, you are a hunter, right?"

Natalie huffed. "Yeah, I am. It wasn't what I wanted to become, but...some things happened a little while back and...here I am."

"Were your family hunters as well?"

"My dad was." Natalie said, after taking a moment to decide whether she would discuss this or not. "But, he didn't want my siblings and I to be a part of any of this. I made this decision on my own."

Gwen hummed. "Well, if I had the choice I wouldn't have gone down this road. Whatever got you in this job, I'm not gonna ask what it is." She assured Natalie. "Did you give it a good thought?"

Natalie let out a small laugh. "No." She looked over at Gwen seeing the look on her face. "I really didn't. Now that I think about it, I decided on a spur of the moment."

"Oh."

"But, there's nothing I can do now. I'm in. And I'm never getting out. And I have already accepted that fact." Gwen nodded silently at Natalie's words, understanding how she felt about all of this.

The door leading into the building opened and a guy leaned out. "Gwen. We need you back in here."

Gwen looked over at the man and nodded in response, causing the man to retreat back in the building. Turning back to Natalie, she offered her a small smile. "Well, it was nice talking with you Natalie."

Natalie tilted her head and nodded. "It was nice talking with you too, Gwen."

Gwen walked away and made her way towards the door, but stopped, and turned back to Natalie. "You going on the hunt with us."

"Wouldn't miss it." Natalie replied. Gwen gave her a nod, before, turning back around and walked back in the building.

* * *

Natalie stepped out of the Impala as the rest of the party grouped up to hear the plan. Though, she stayed a little back and took out her phone and quickly went through the messages, before, putting her phone away and stood next to Dean, while adjusting the hold on her machete.

"The house is just over the hill. About a dozen vamps and the alpha. We got one shot at this son of a bitch." Samuel said and then turned to one of the men. "Christian, take the flank. The rest of you are with me and Sam. Dean, Gwen and Natalie... you three hang back, sweep any stragglers we flush out." Samuel saw the look on Dean's face. "Is that a problem, Dean?"

Dean gave Samuel a shake of the head and shrugged. "No, sir."

Samuel nodded and looked over at Natalie. "We clear, Natalie?"

Natalie gave Samuel an optimistic smile. "Got it."

"So you are saying I have to stay back again?" Gwen questioned Samuel.

Samuel gave her a look, ending the conversation and then turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, let's go."

Sam began to walk, but then, stopped in front of Natalie and Dean. "Don't worry about it. It's fine."

"No, nothing's fine." Dean quietly answered. "Hell, you're not fine." He took a look around them and motioned for Sam to leave. "Go."

Gwen let out an annoyed sigh and leaned against one of the trucks. "God, I hate being left behind. Think it's because I remind him of his daughter or something."

"Well, you just speak your mind." Dean commented.

"I'll take that as a compliment then." Gwen said.

"You should."

The sound of leaves rustling and branches breaking caught their attentions. Natalie looked carefully in the direction in which the sound seemed to be coming from. She barely had time to react as something suddenly tackled Dean to the ground.

It didn't take long for her to realize that it was a stray vampire, no doubt one that had escaped from the attack the others were engaging in right now. Natalie tighted her hold on the machete and ran over, swinging the weapon across and chopped off the head in a clean swipe.

Looking down at Dean, she could see that surprise on his face and she tilted her head for a moment. "Glad I acted fast." She commented and reached her hand out to him, which he took, and pulled him up on his feet.

Gunshots resonated through the hair causing Natalie and Dean to snap their attention in that direction. They both shared a look and then began to run towards that direction. "We're supposed to wait here!" Gwen called out to them, but, it didn't stop them. "Dean! Natalie!"

Natalie and Dean ran up the hill and through a small tree infested patch of the area, until they came to an opening that led to the house where the attack was being carried out. They both knelt down behind a few bushes that were at the edge of the opening and watched as Samuel and Sam guided a chained vampire into the back of one of the vehicles.

Watching the scene in silence, they both seemed to have come up with the same thought. "What the hell are they doing?" Natalie whispered. Dean kept his gaze on the sight, but, shook his head in response to her question. Samuel closed the back door of a vehicle and signaled for them to head out.

Dean took hold of Natalie's arm, motioning for her to follow him. The two quickly made their back to where the other cars were, before Samuel and the others got there. Once they made it over the hill and walked down the incline, Gwen was looking at them questioningly.

"Where were you two?" She asked once Dean and Natalie reached her.

Samuel and the others finally appeared and he walked over to them, spotting the headless body on the ground. "Everything alright here?"

"Just, uh, chopped up a runner. No big deal. How'd it go?" Gwen asked, switching the subject.

"Rough, but one alpha down."

Natalie and Dean sneak a look at each other. "Where is it?" Dean asked, causing Samuel to look over at him. "Want to pay my last respects."

"Well, bring marshmellows. Already on the pyre."

Dean nodded his head, trying to hide the fact that he knew it was a lie. "Well, at least this alpha is down."

"Yeah." Samuel turned to the rest of the group. "Let's head out then."

* * *

As the Impala sped down the road, Dean had been debating the whole time whether to bring up the matter with Sam. Clearly, what he and Natalie saw, was something they both had no knowledge of and he wanted to know. Looking up in the rear view mirrow, he caught Natalie's attention and he could see that she wanted answers as well.

"So." Dean began, causing Sam to look at him. "Things go okay back there?"

Sam remained silent and then shrugged. "Fine."

"Nothing weird?" Dean tried again only to have Sam shake his head. Something inside Dean ticked and he sped up the car and came to a screeching halt at the side of the road. Turning off the engine, he turned to look fully at Sam. "Nad and I saw you walk that alpha out the door, Sam. Now, call me crzy...but that seems weird."

Sam made a face and sighed. "Oh."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh? That's all you are going to say is, oh?"

"You guys weren't supposed to know about that." Sam confessed.

"Know what?" Dean questioned.

"It's just something Samuel's been doing. Catching things, taking them somewhere, grilling them for info."

"Grill. You mean torture, right? And not telling us—that was his idea?" Dean asked.

"No, it was mine." Sam said.

Natalie scoffed and leaned back against her seat. "Now, that's not a shocker."

"Why?" Dean began to question again.

"Honestly? Because you both would have messed it up. You shoot first, ask questions later, and we needed to ask questions."

Dean blinked several times, not able to comprehend Sam's thinking. "You know, I don't care if you've got soullessness or the freaking mumps, man. You know better than this! Do you even want your soul back?"

Sam looked at Dean confusingly. "How does that have to do with any of this?"

"Have you been to the place where Samuel takes them?" Dean interrupted. "I mean, have you been in on these interrorgations?"

"No, but I hear—'

"And why? And did it ever occur to you that this is really shady?"

"He's our grandfather." Sam said, trying to reason with him.

"Oh yeah. A guy who talks a great game. But you can't assume that family means the same thing to him as it does to us. He's not Dad." Dean stopped and stared at Sam, seeing no change in his expression. "Wow. You don't see it, do you?"

"What?"

"You've got no instince." Dean said, scoffing. "I mean, you are seriously messed up."

Sam let out a scoff. "Yeah, thanks."

"I'm not kidding, man. Nobody's forcing you to work with us, okay? But if we do this...I drive the bus, I call the shots, and you tell everything. Either say to me or Nad, whether you think it's important or not, because trust me, you can't tell the difference. Or, you know what? Go-go with Samuel. See how that goes. It's up to you."

* * *

Natalie and Dean sat in the Impala with nothing but silence between them. They had driven Sam back to the Campbell home giving Sam a choice as to what he wanted to do. They had devised a plan to try and get Samuel to allow Sam on the interrogations so he could find out the location. But, as to whether Sam would one hundred percent follow through was the thing Natalie and Dean had to think about.

Dean let out a tired sigh and looked up in the rear view mirrow, seeing Natalie, who seemed to be dazing off almost. "You alright, Nad?"

Natalie casually looked up at Dean and shrugged. That was the only response she could give him. He should know by now how she felt with everything.

"You think he is gonna go through with it? The plan?" Natalie finally asked.

"I sure hope so, Nad." Dean replied and the two once again descended into silence.

The passenger side door suddenly opened and Sam quickly slid in. Natalie and Dean stared at him, both of them not really thinking he would come back. "Hey." Dean finally said.

"You didn't think I'd come back." Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "I figured 60/40."

"So, Samuel didn't take the bait. So I went with plan b."

Natalie leaned up against the back of the front seat, looking at Sam, confused. "We made up a plan b? I don't recall that."

Sam looked at Natalie with a satisfied smirk on his face. And for a small moment it was almost as if she saw the 'real' Sam. The one who was always so considerate and empathetic about everything. It seemed like even though he was soulless, there was still a very small part of him that was still 'Sam', but it was just buried, deep, deep down.

Pulling out his cellphone, he held it up to them. "Fired up the GPS on one of his cellphones. We should be able to track him to the alpha."

Natalie gave Sam an amused look. "The old man won't notice?" Dean asked.

Sam scoffed. "Trust me. He thinks velcro is big news." Natalie let out a snort when the beeping soon went off. "There. Got him."

Dean turned in his seat and started up the engine. "Let's go see ourselves an alpha."

* * *

The three of them arrive at what looks like an abandoned warehouse of sorts, though that didn't surprise them. This was usually the best places to hold creatures. Walking up to the main door, Natalie stared at a stain on the door. She wiped her finger against it and inspected it before presenting it to Sam and Dean.

"Dean man's blood?" Sam asked.

"Hey, it's smart. Lock the place down with vamp repellent." Dean commented as he took out his lock picks.

Once he got the door unlocked, the three of them quietly walked in and through the first room. Then, through another door, they found a room that turned right, down a long corridor. They followed the hallway until it turned right once again through an open archway that led to another shorter hallway.

The three of them walked down only a small portion of it, when someone from down the hall appeared. Dean quickly rushed into a room as Sam took hold of Natalie's arm, pulling her into the room with him.

Dean quickly took refuge behind a worn down metal desk, while Sam and Natalie hid behind filing cabinets on either sides of the room. Natalie quietly got down on her knees and took a quick glance past the cabinet and towards the door, seeing a man stopping at the doorway, which caused her to immediately retract fully.

The faint shuffling of footsteps entered the room and Natalie could feel her breathing slow down. It remained quiet for only a few more seconds, before the footsteps left the room and disappeared down the hallway.

Natalie slowly got back up on her feet and peered over the cabinet, seeing that the man was indeed gone. Dean and Sam both stood up as well and with a quick glance between them, they quickly made their way out of the room and continued on down the hall.

As they reached the end, faint voices carried out into the hallway and they found themselves at an open doorway. Sam quickly stepped to the other side, while Natalie and Dean stayed together. They all took a quick glance in the room, seeing Samuel with the Alpha, who was nailed down in an iron cage.

"_Where is it? Answer the question. Where is it? How do we find it?" _Samuel's voice came through clearer now. When the Alpha remains silent, Samuel turns on some sort of battery which in turn begins to electrocute the Alpha.

"_Ouch. Stop. That hurts." _

Samuel reluctantly turns off the machine. _"This is club med compared to what we have planned for you. I got all the time in the world." _

"_Well, that makes two of us." _

The three of them hide back from the opening, when they hear a door open and then close. Dean looks at Sam and Natalie, signaling for them to leave.

"_Are you going to hide all night?" _The voice stops them dead in their tracks and Natalie closes her eyes and sighs. _"Come on out." _

Dean and Sam exchange looks before slowly opening the doors the rest of the way. They then made their way into the room. "How can I help you?" The Alpha asked.

"We got some questions for you, skippy, since you're not going nowhere fast." Dean said, walking closer to the cage.

"Don't be to sure." The Alpha comments before letting out a laugh.

"Yeah? Locked down pretty tight. And with all that dead blood rushing through your veins." Dean motioned over to the machine next to the cage. "Not sure you got enough juice to fire up that psychic bat-signal of yours, do you?"

"Oh. True. Not near enough juice for that...Dean."

Dean looked at him as his brows raised. "I didn't realize we were on first name basis here."

The Alpha gave Dean a look. "Of course we are. After all, you were my child...for a time. Dean, tell me...did you enjoy it?"

Dean walked over to the battery and switched it on. "I'm asking the questions here, fright night."

"When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark. Now you think you can hurt me?"

Dean nodded slightly before shutting off the machine.

"I have all night you three. Anyway, I'm happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

"Why?"

"Why?! Because soon, I'll be ankle-deep in your blood, sucking the marrow from your bones."

"So you're really it then." Sam began as he walked closer to the cage. "The first of your species."

"The very first."

"But if you're the first...who made you?" Sam asked.

"We all have our mothers. Even me." The Alpha blatantly states.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked. "And what's with the big surge of vamps lately? I mean, it's like—'

"Like we're going to war."

"Why? What's going on?" Sam interrupted. "Why did Samuel bring you here?"

The Alpha looks over at Sam and sniffs. "You smell cold." Dean and Natalie looked over at Sam. "You have no soul. What an oddity. Do you feel how empty you are? What is it like to have no soul?"

"Answer my question." Sam interjected.

"You first."

"You're the one in the cage." Sam replied.

"The thing about souls, if you've got one, of course—is they're predictable. You die, you go up or down. Where do my kind go?"

"Alright, enough with the sermon, freak." Dean said annoyingly.

"I'm trying to answer the question. Now, when we 'freaks' die...where do we go? Not heaven, not hell. So?"

"Legoland?" Dean replied.

The Alpha casted Dean an annoyed glance. "Little rusty on our Dante?"

Natalie looked over at the Alpha, her head perking up at the answer. "It's Purgatory." The three of them look over at her. "When creatures die, they go to Purgatory."

The Alpha let out a laugh of content. "See? The pretty little miss has got it."

Dean nodded his head. "Okay, settle down." He lightly scolded. "Purgatory is real?"

"Oh, stupid cattle. Of course! And it is filled with soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this earth. Now, where is it? That is the mystery. And that is what your kindhearted grandaddy is trying to be out of me."

"Samuel brought you here...to find out where Purgatory is?" Sam asked.

"I keep telling him, how would I know such a thing? But he refuses to untie me."

Sam narrowed his eyes and inched closer to the cage. "You know exactly where it is. Why does Samuel care about any of this?"

"He doesn't care. He does as he is told."

Natalie looked over at Dean, seeing his face wash over with realization. "Well, if the old mans Kermit...whose hand's up his ass?"

The sound of a gun cocking causing the three of them to turn around to find Samuel and two other men. "Evening you three." He motioned for them to leave the room. When they remained still, the two men quickly ushered them out.

They guided them out of the room and halfway down the hall before stopping them. They proceeded to unarm them, throwing their weapons down onto the ground.

"Wow, you know, I have seen some stupid in my time, but you take the crown." Dean commented. "Putting Jaws in a fishbowl? How do you think that's gonna end? I don't know what kind of game you're playing..."

"What, do you think I'm doing this for kicks?" Samuel questioned.

"I think you've got the rest of these feebs convinced that you're John Wayne. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're hiding...it's gonna put you and everyone around you in the ground."

Samuel charges after Dean, who quickly throws his gun out of his hands. Natalie when to pick up her gun from the ground when a hand pulls her back and slams her up against the wall. She braces her hands against the mans chest to push him back when the sound of a gun cocking causes everyone to stop.

"Hi."

Natalie heard a voice and she recognized it as being Gwen. She looked at the man, who was still holding her back, and roughly pushes him, effectively getting him away from her.

"Gwen." Dean lets down his gun. "And I thought we had something special."

"Sorry to disappoint." Gwen said as she made her way over to them.

Screams coming from down the hall caught their attention. Samuel looked over at them, "Grab your stuff." Then took off towards the room with Gwen.

Sam, Dean and Natalie quickly scramble to get their weapons before heading back towards the room. Once there, they find that the Alpha is gone and one of men are dead. Samuel and Dean take a quick sweep of the cage, trying to figure out how he got out.

"How long till the Alpha's 100%?" Dean asked.

"Hour. Maybe less. We need to get him dosed up and back in the cage."

Natalie scoffed. "Are you kidding me? After what just happened, your brilliant idea is to put him back in there?"

"Nad's right." Dean said. "Listen, I don't know what your big plan was, but playing catch is not on the table."

"Dean—'

"We take the thing's head off, or it kills us all. You know that." Dean could see Samuel reluctantly agreeing. "Okay. We split up. Clear every room. You get a shot, you take it. It's not gonna kill him, but, it will slow him down at least. And if we make through this." Dean looked back over at Samuel. "We are having one hell of a family meeting."

Dean looks around at the group, seeing each of them nodding their understanding. Looking over at Natalie, he motions for her to follow him, before heading out of the room.

* * *

Dean and Natalie finish sweeping another room and found themselves making a full circle that was taking them back to the room where the Alpha was. "So, what do you think of this?" Natalie finally asked. "Samuel torturing this Alpha to get to Purgatory."

Dean shook his head as they continued walking. "I am not sure. I just wanna know who's telling him to do all of this. What's the motive?"

"Guess you are going to find out pretty soon." Natalie said.

As they came closer to the room, they could hear a struggle coming from their and they both immediately broke out into a run. Coming to the door, they saw the Alpha was being handled by a group of demons and soon they were gone.

"What the hell?" Natalie asked when clapping began to echo through the room.

Dean, Natalie and Sam walk closer to the source of the sound only to find... "Crowley?" Sam questioned.

"Well, that was dramatic." Crowley commented as he began to descend down a flight of stairs. "Hello, boys and gal. See you've got her back under your wing." He said pointing over to Natalie. "What an unexpected treat."

"Bring Christian back now." Samuel commanded.

"I'm sorry?"

"My nephew! The one you just crammed a demon into!"

Crowley made a face. "Oh. No. I had him possessed ages ago. Samuel, really. I keep an eye on my investments."

"Whoa, wait a minute. You two know each other?" Dean asked.

"Not in the biblical sense. More of a business relationship, I'd say."

Natalie's mouth fell agape. "Oh my god..."

"You're Crowley's bitch." Sam added.

"It's not what you think."

"It's precisely what you think. That alpha he's caught me is getting him a gold star."

"Since when do you give a crap about vampires?" Dean asked.

"Since, uh...what's today-Friday? Since, let's see...mind your business."

"You may as well share with the class, Crowley." Sam began. "We know you're looking for Purgatory."

"So you heard about that?"

"Yeah. You want to tell us why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Crowley raised his shoulders. "Location, location, location. I'm a developer. Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and hell-adjacent, and I want it."

"What for?" Dean asked.

"Best shut your gob. Employees don't question management."

"We are not your employees." Dean bit back.

"Of course you are! Have been for some time now, thanks to gramps. I don't keep Captain Chromedome around for his wit, do I? Samuel knows things. He's a walking encyclopedia of the creepy and the crawly. And I knew...you two are so hung up on family loyalty nonsense, he said jump, you'd get froggy."

Dean shook his head, "Yeah, well, game's over."

Crowley pursed his lips. "Yeah, well, afraid not, not if you want to see Sam's soul ever again."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Crowley. "You're bluffing."

"Tell them, Samuel."

Dean, Natalie and Sam all turn to him, seeing the hesitation in his face. "He pulled us both back, me and Sam."

"What? You knew?" Sam questioned.

"And you didn't even think it would be the right thing to say something?" Natalie asked.

"No wait a minute." Dean interrupted them. "Cas says it takes bit time mojo to pull something like that off, and you're nothing but a punk ass crossroads demon."

"Was a punk ass crossroads demon. Now? King of Hell." Crowley corrected. "Believe me, I've got the mojo. I snap my fingers, Sam get's his soul back. Or you can be..you, and I shove Same right back in the hole. Can't imagine what it's like in there...and I can imagine so many things."

Natalie shook her head and scoffed. "You are such an unbelieveable asshole."

Crowley pressed his hand against his chest. "Oh. Like I said a year ago, don't strain yourself to much darling." Natalie rolled her eyes and bit down on her lip.

"So, we clear? Me, Charlie...you angels. Job's simple enough—bring me creatures. Aim high on the food chain, please. Everybody wins. It's been a pleasure. See you soon."

Once Crowley left there was nothing but silence between the occupants. Samuel sighed and picked up his bag, setting it on the table. "It's time to leave. Go get the van Gwen."

"You're letting a demon call the shots?" She asked angrily.

"Nothing's changed. We hunt. Period. Don't worry about him. I'll take care of it." Samuel began to put things into his bag and looked up, seeing Gwen was still staring at him. "Do you trust me or not? Get the van, Gwen."

As Gwen left, Dean walked over to Natalie. "Hey, Nad. Why don't you go and wait in the car?"

Natalie looked at Dean and easily agreed with him. "Yeah, okay. It's obvious that you three need to talk. And Samuel." He looked up at her. "You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do with both of them."

Natalie gave Dean and Sam one last glance before walking out of the room. As she walked down the hall, she could see Gwen not to far ahead of her and she picked up her pace slightly to reach her. "So." She began once she was walking next to her. "Are you going to follow him so easily, now?" Natalie questioned and then continued on without giving another look.

* * *

**So how did you all like it? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: So I decided to do something different in place of episode eight. I figured, maybe I could give you guys a little bit of an insight as to what Natalie and Clara have been doing this past year-hunting down their demon. Now, this chapter is going to involve a small group of characters, including Jake and David, who you all met in the last story. Also, I wanted to explore more of Natalie's darker side, which had been building up for the entire year. It's been mentioned only briefly in the earlier chapters and I wanted to really show it now. I also wanted Sam and Dean to get a chance to see this as well. So, I hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"And where exactly are we?" Dean asked as he stepped out of the car and looked up at the abandoned house in front of him.

Natalie stepped out and stood next to him, her eyes scanning over the house as well. "Well...it's an abandoned house." She answered sarcastically.

Dean stared at her, giving a look of annoyance at her sarcasm. "I know that. But, why here?"

"Because Aunt Clara called me to come out here. Well actually, scratch that. She said that I didn't have to come out here...but, I wanted to." Natalie walked past him, towards the house, when she stopped and turned around, walking backwards towards the house. "And to answer your earlier question...this house belongs to Jake and his family."

Dean and Sam's brows raised at the name, causing Natalie to smirk. "Jake? You mean as in, Jake, right?" Dean asked.

Natalie gave a small tilt of her head, her smile growing. "Yeah. You remember Jake, right?" She asked, before turning around back towards the house.

Dean shrugged. "How could I forget?" Dean and Sam followed Natalie up to the porch and stood in front of the door. "So, why does Jake and his family own this...worn down place?" Dean asked.

"Well, it used to be their old family home...but, after David's parents died, he kind of walked away from this place...but, he kept it. Incase he needed to use it for anything." She explained as they finally reached the front door.

"So, why are you and Clara staying in this place? What do you guys use it for?" Sam was the next one to question.

Natalie reached for the doorknob and turned it, only to find that it was locked. She then raised a fist and pounded on the door a couple of times, before looking over at the boys. "We've been using it sort of like a...meet up, per say. Ever since Aunt Clara and I have started hunting our demon, David and Jake, have been helping us. Thus, they offered this place to do our work."

The door opened to reveal Jake standing on the other side and it wasn't hard to tell by the look on his face that he was surprised to see Sam and Dean there with her. Natalie gave him a quick smile. "Hey. So, Aunt Clara called me. I'm guessing you guys got something?"

Jake gave her a huff. "We got more than just something. Here come on in. We'll explain everything."

Natalie nodded and walked past Jake into the house. Sam and Dean hesitated for a moment before Jake gave them a nod to come in. "It's good to see you both." Jake said.

Dean walked in and gave Jake a pat on the shoulder. "Nice to see you too Jake."

Sam and Dean walked down the hall, following Natalie into this huge study where David, Clara and Bobby were standing around a table. Natalie could feel herself stopping in her tracks, her eyes glued on him. She had not seen or spoken to him since that day she confronted them. And now, here he was. Bobby could feel the tension as well when he noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Nad." He finally said.

His voice seemed to have snapped her out of her trance and she gave him a small smile. "Hi, Bobby."

Bobby looked at Sam and Dean as they stood behind her. "I see you brought the boys with you."

"Yeah, thought maybe they could listen in on what's going on." Natalie answered as she walked over to the table.

Dean and Sam walked into the room, their eyes scanning around the area. Dean looked over at David and gave him a nod. "Hey, David."

"It's good to see you Dean. Sam." David answered as Sam gave his own nod of awknowledgement

"Bobby, when did you start coming here?" Natalie asked.

"You're Aunt invested in my help a couple of weeks ago. Ever since then, I've been sucked into all of this." Bobby finished and looked over at Clara who was giving him a light look which caused him to roll his eyes. "But, I'm more than happy to help. Besides, it's about time that this gets finished once and for all."

Natalie saw the small interaction between her Aunt and Bobby and she smirked. Her attention was attracted only for a second over to Jake as he made his way into the room and stood next to his father. "So, what's going on here?" Natalie asked, hoping to get this conversation going.

"We managed to track down a demon who could give us some information on where to find our own." Natalie's brows raised. "Each of us have had some cracks at him. But, nothing to big."

"Who's the demon that you guys got this time?" Natalie asked.

"Well, he won't tell us his real name. But, he's been taking over people who have either died or were comatose. He travels from vessel to vessel. Fortunately, we were able to track him down in his current form." Clara explained.

Natalie nodded in approval. "Who's he possessing now?"

"A guy by the name of Mark Edwards. Was in a car accident a few months ago and was taken off life support when he slipped into a coma."

"Then he took over the body and practically walked away. Okay, so basically the real Mark is dead." Natalie said only to have Clara nod in confirmation. "Okay, what has he told you?"

"So, far we have managed to get a name. Finally. We know what our demon is known as." Clara responded. "Elais."

Natalie nodded, allowing the name to sink in. "What do we know about Elais? I mean, do we know where it is?"

Clara shook her head as she looked down at the various papers on the table. "Only thing we can gather is that he travels from several vessels. So...he could be possessing anyone now."

Natalie let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Okay. The demon, Mark, you guys captured him...he's still here?"

"We got him locked down in the basement." Jake replied.

Natalie pursed her lips to the side and bit on her bottom lip. "We need to know where Elais is. You all have done your way with him...let me take a shot at it."

At this, Clara leaned away from the table, casting Natalie a hesitant and hard stare. This was something that Clara didn't want Natalie to do, which is why she regrets ever telling Natalie about any of this.

"Nad. I don't think that's a good idea." Clara began. "I mean we tried cracking him and...he's not giving in."

Natalie stared at her Aunt and let out a laugh. "That's because he hasn't gone through me yet."

The tone of Natalie's words caught Sam, Dean and Bobby by surprise. They knew that Natalie had been hunting this thing down for the past year, but, what they were talking about was interrogation, which in most cases would turn into torture. Natalie wasn't the kind of person who would jump at the chance to torture something, regardless if it was a demon. That wasn't who she was.

Dean looked at the group when no one was saying anything. No one was objecting at the notion of Natalie doing this, which all the more confused him. "Whoah, wait a minute." Dean began. "You're talking about...torture, right?"

Natalie nodded her head and looked over at Dean. "If he doesn't want to talk. Then, yes, that's what I'll resort to."

"Wait. Is that what all of you have been doing with this demon? Torturing the damn thing?" Dean questioned to the rest of the group.

Clara shook her head. "We never tortured him. That's usually left up to..." Clara paused and sucked in a breath as she looked over at Natalie.

Dean's eyes stared back at Natalie, not seeing any sign of hesitation on her face which made him feel almost a small sense of dread wash over him. "Nad. You're torturing now?"

Natalie looked up and saw Bobby's face. "Yeah." She slowly looked over at Dean.

The tense silence that followed was thick, causing everyone to grow uncomfortable. Clara looked over at David and Jake. "Let's give these four some time. Natalie's got some things to explain to them." Clara ushered David and Jake over to the door and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Natalie leaned away from the table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright. Let me hear it."

"What the hell, Nad?!" Dean wasn't going to waste anytime, he wanted to know why she felt the need to resort to torturing. He looked over at Bobby. "Did you know about this?"

Bobby gave Dean a look. "Yeah right. If I knew Nad was torturing don't you think I would have done everything to stop her. They both kept me out the entire year Dean. Clara never told me Nad was hunting with her."

"None of you were supposed to know." Natalie interjected, causing the three hunters to look at her increduously. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Because this is something that we didn't expect." Sam answered, catching Natalie off guard since she didn't think he would be talking against this.

"Well, I told you three that I had been hunting the entire year-"

"Yeah, but, you didn't tell us this part." Dean said, walking closer to her. "Why the hell would you start torturing Nad? I mean, you? Torturing? I'm sorry that just doesn't sound right to me."

Natalie sighed, annoyed by their attempt to talk her out of doing this. "Listen. I've only done the torturing part a few times. All the other times Aunt Clara just exorcised them."

"A couple of times is to much, Nad!" Dean called out.

"Dean, is right Nad." Bobby began. "I mean just doing that kind of thing just a few times can mess with your head. And not to mention the fact that this past year wasn't kind to you."

"That's the whole reason why I'm here in the first place!" Natalie barked at them. "This past year was hell. All of the anger that I had needed to be let out and Aunt Clara decided to bring me on her hunts for the demon. And when we would catch one...she would let me do the work."

Bobby shook his head. "I don't believe Clara would just let you torture something."

"She didn't. She was against it the whole time. But, the more we argued about it...the more pissed I got. So, she knew that the only thing she could do was leave me be."

"But, the past hunts we've been on. You seemed like your usual self." Sam added.

"That's because this part of me, the side that enjoys the torturing. I've learned to keep it hidden until it's time for it to come out and play." Natalie explained. She looked at the faces of the three hunters, seeing the skepticism in their eyes. "Listen! It's not like I'm going around looking for any creature to get my hands on so I can torture it! I'm not craving the urge to torture! I have it under control."

Dean slowly shook his head and stared at Natalie. "Nad. This isn't you." Natalie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "No, I'm serious. This isn't you. The Nad I know would never do something like this. She would never be this violent. She would try to avoid from doing something like this."

Natalie snapped her gaze over at Dean, her glare was hard and blank. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not the same precious innocent little Nad anymore. I've changed. That's what people do. All of you should know about that."

Dean, Bobby and Sam continued to stare at her and this time, she didn't back down from her reasoning. She wasn't feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny of their gazes. Though, she could feel a small amount of guilt in her for upsetting Dean and Bobby. She didn't care what Sam thought about all of this, after all, he was soulless.

Natalie cleared her throat and closed her eyes and hung her head back. "Look. I know you guys don't like this. But, you three have no idea what I've been through. Hunting down Elais became so...frustrating, that torturing the demons we caught was the only way to get information out of them, even though it wasn't much."

Opening her eyes she could still see the unsatisfied looks on their faces. "It was quick. Torture, get what you need then perform the exorcism. I'm sorry if you are disappointed...but, it's not gonna stop me." Natalie saw Dean's expression tense. "So if you guys don't want to be around for this...then leave."

Dean slowly shook his head. "Oh, no. We're staying right here."

Natalie thought for a moment maybe it was to support her, but, she knew that wasn't the truth. They would stay here so they could keep a eye on her. And in some way that just annoyed her even more, but, she wasn't in the mood to argue with them anymore. She needed to have a clear mind before she went down in this basement. And even though she didn't care what they thought, she didn't want them to be there to see it.

Natalie looked at each of them, seeing the agreement in their eyes and then sighed. "Fine."

* * *

**So what did you all think? Just to clear it up, Elais is a fictional demon, not based on any real figure. But, how do you feel about the thought of Nad torturing?!**

**The actual torturing won't happen until the next chapter and I am hoping to get that posted by the end of the weekend so look out for that! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: And here is the next chapter for you all. This will have torture in it and I made sure not to go overboard with it, but, I hope that I wrote a good chapter. I honestly hope you all enjoy it. I am not a fan of torturing, but, it was an area that I knew I wanted to put Natalie through so I hope I did somewhat of a convincing job. _

_Also on a related note. I just started my second year of college and I can already tell that this semester is going to kick my butt. So, that means updates are going to take longer because I'm going to be busy with school. I'm hoping to get at least one chapter up every weekend, but, we will have to see how everything plays out. So, this is just a heads up for you guys_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

The basement was dim, only lit by a few light bulbs that hung from the ceiling. All across the walls were shelves that were full with nothing but unopened boxes. They most likely contained family items that David had stored away, not wanting to look at them anymore. At the far end of this room was a chipped wood door that led to another room,which was where the demon was currently tied up.

Natalie stood in front of the door, mentally preparing herself for the task that she was about to begin. It wasn't like she was nervous about it, she has done this several times. But, the more she simmered in her thoughts, the more she wished that Sam, Dean and Bobby would just leave. She didn't want them to see this, but, they were determined to stay here.

Taking in a deep breath, she reached her hand out and opened the door. Clara, David and Jake were already in the room, keeping an eye on the demon when Natalie's entrance caught their attention.

Natalie walked over to her Aunt, while keeping her glare focused on the weakened demon. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Clara asked, resting a hand on Natalie's shoulder.

"It's not the first time I've done this." Natalie answered, keeping her eyes on the demon. "You guys can wait out there."

Clara looked up at Sam, Dean and Bobby. "What about them?"

"They aren't going to let me do this alone. Just leave them here." Natalie answered quickly.

Clara stared at Natalie, already seeing her body tensing with the itch to get this task going. "Alright, then." Motioning for David and Jake to follow, Clara led the way out and gave the three hunters the nod to stay with Natalie.

Sam, Dean and Bobby settled themsevles against the wall behind Natalie as she turned around and walked over to the table near them. Her eyes scanned over the table seeing the various objects she has used to torture in the past. Salt, Holy Water, her father's knife. Everything she needs was right here. Picking up her father's knife she dipped it into the holy water and then coated the blade with a thick layer of salt then set it back down.

Looking over at Dean, she could see a tense scrutinizing expression on his face and for a moment she could feel herself become guilt ridden. "Like I said before. If he tells me what we need...then I won't do it. But, if he doesn't..." Natalie finished seeing that Dean wasn't taking any other explanation from her. "Alright." She breathed out.

Closing her eyes, Natalie hung her head back, clearing her mind from anything that might jeopardize her ability to do this right. She was allowing this side of her to come back out and it was the side that none of them had seen before. Disappointment filled her mind, but, it was directed at herself. How did she allow herself to stoop this low? It was a question she had asked herself when she first began doing this and now it has become nothing more than a nagging thought.

That familiar calm soon made it's pressence and she allowed herself to crawl back into this grim mindset, where she didn't care about how brutal this would turn out. She had one goal and she was going to do whatever it took to achieve it.

Upon opening her eyes, Natalie let out a contented sigh and looked over at Dean, giving him a small smirk. That small little gesture caused Dean's brows to crease with worry. That was the sort of look he had never seen from her and honestly it scared him.

Turning around, she eyed the demon for a quick second, then picked up a chair and sat down in front of him. Even doing this, he didn't raise his head to look at her, which seemed to aggitate her even more. "Hey." Natalie began, her head tilting at him when he didn't respond. "Hello? Little demon...wakey, wakey."

After receiving no response, Natalie knew that he was just putting on an act. She brought her hand up and smacked him across the face, causing the room to echo with the hit. The demon jolted at her hit and let out a few groans.

"Hey! They didn't do anything to you, so stop with this bull shit act of yours." Natalie snarled, only to raise her brows as the demon lifted his head to look at her. Her face lit up with a cheeky grin once their eyes met. "There we go. That's what I wanted."

Throwing a small hit to his leg she began to settle herself more comfortable in the chair. "So. Mark. That's your name, right? Well, at least it's the name of the poor guy you are possessing. You wanna tell me your _real _name?"

The demon glared at Natalie, his face showing a blank menacing expression, but, it all seemed to fade when he let out a laugh. "Just call me Mark. Might as well, right? Use this body to it's full use."

Natalie gave him a fake smile of forced amusement and hummed. "Fine. Mark. So, they told me that you spilled out the name of the demon we are looking for." The humorus look on Mark's face soon let up and Natalie smiled at herself. "Elais. You know him, no doubt about it. Let me ask you this, were you apart of the legion that Amdusias brought with him?"

Mark scoffed as his head lolled a few times. "I was never apart of his legion. I have nothing to do with Amdusias or Elais, I could give a rats ass about them. I'm just your everyday typical demon. You know, taking over bodies, trying to live the simple good life."

"Nah, you see I don't buy that." Natalie leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. "If you didn't care about them, then why were you intent on keeping his name from us?"

"Why should I give you any kind of answer? You're hunters. I'm not going to give you anything."

Natalie clicked her tongue and smirked. "Well, you did. And also, why were you running from us? It's because you know things we need."

"I wasn't running because of that." Mark's voice was dripping with a faint panic. "I mean come on. A group of hunters tracking down a demon...yeah, I'm gonna try and cover up my tracks."

"Or you're were trying to get away from us so you wouldn't have to admit anything." Natalie offered. "So, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to ask you a few simple questions and all you have to do is answer them. Then this will all go smoothly. Got it?" She stared at Mark, not receiving any agreement from him, but, she nodded nontheless. "Good."

Natalie sat back in her chair, crossed her leg over the other and folded her arms over her chest. "So, first thing. Where is Elais?"

Mark snickered and tilted his head back. "You really are wasting your time talking with me." Mark the leaned forward towards her. "I don't know."

Natalie gave him a small scolding look. "Now, Mark. You know lying is never a good thing. Come on tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." He pressed once again, his tone mixing with annoyance and panic. "I don't know anything about Elais. You have better luck tracking down another demon and interrogating it."

Natalie stood up, leaned her hands on the arms of Mark's chair and stared him down. "I'm not playing games right now Mark. You have information that we need. So might as well tell us now. Because I can go all night with this."

Mark's eyes narrowed at her, his face evident of intense scrutiny and a smirk began to grow on his face. "Why is he so important to you?" Mark then made a faked empathetic face. "Oh, yeah, that's right. He killed your precious little daddy and mommy."

Natalie's face that had been stoic and frozen with determination had now been overwritten with intense pain. Hearing those words coming from a demons mouth caught her off guard, more than she ever thought it would.

Mark face lightened with elation once he knew that he had her on a hook. "Slaughtered them more like it. Yeah, we all know what happened to them. Word gets around. And you know something, you are looking for this demon to blame, when really you should blame yourself." His expression soon turned into a questioning look. "You were there when it happened right? And yet you did nothing to stop it."

Natalie slowly leaned away from Mark, feeling herself beginning to crawl back into that guilt ridden mindset that she had worked so hard to move on from this past year. All of the pain and anger came flooding back and her capability to handle herself was slowly slipping away.

"You didn't save them." Mark continued. "You sat there and watched them get killed. If you have anyone to blame...it's yourself. It's _your _fault it happened. You killed your parents."

The action was so quick that she didn't register the punch that she threw across his face. The sickeing impact of her fist against his face echoed. Her eyes were clouded with anger ridden tears as she threw another punch across his face. Natalie could feel her arms twitching with adrenaline as she threw two more punches across his face. Though the action had the opposite effect than she was hoping for. Mark simply laughed at the notion, moving around his sour jaw.

Natalie let out a breath before turning around and saw the shocked looks that she was receiving from Dean and Bobby, Sam not so much. Shaking her head, she walked over to the table and picked up the salted knifed when Dean's hand grabbed onto her arm.

"Nad. Maybe you shouldn't do this. Obviously he's getting to you." Dean said, trying to get her to agree with him.

"Dean. Let go." Natalie warned, not giving him a single look.

Dean hesitated, hearing the tone in her voice he knew that there was no way of convincing her to stop. Natalie was going to do whatever she wanted to and nothing he said would change her mind. Slowly, he removed his grip on her arm and he could see her body lose some of its tension.

Natalie finally breathed out and wiped at her ways, ridding away an sign of weakness before she would face Mark again. The grip on her father's knife tightened and once she gained back control, picking up a gallon of holy water, she turned back around and walked over to him.

"Let's try this again." Natalie said as she kicked her chair across the room causing a loud crash as it made contact with the opposite wall. "Tell me where Elais is?" She asked again, keeping her knife closed to her side.

Mark spit out the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "I don't have anything to tell you."

"Strange." Natalie began. "Because you knew what happened to my parents."

"Like is said." Mark snapped. "The word got around. You're family had been hunting for generations...you think we wouldn't know about the Collins family?"

"I'm asking this again. Where. Is. Elais?" Natalie asked, walking around till she was standing behind him.

"I'm not giving you any other answer instead of, I don't know."

Natalie nodded her head and quickly uncapped the jug began to pour the holy water down his body. His screams were instant and they increased in volume as the water continued to be poured. Once the gallon was empty, Natalie tossed it to the side of the room making it bounce for a second before finally settling.

"You going to tell me now?!" Natalie called out, as she leaned down next to his ear.

Mark's breathing had started turning into painful huffs as he tried to recover from her treatment. "I-I'm not...going to give you anything else."

Natalie brought up her knife and embedded it into his left shoulder, causing him to let out shrilling screams that caused even Dean and Bobby to cringe. "Come on Mark!" Natalie yelled out among his screams. "Like I said, I have all night!"

Mark bit down on his lip, sucking in hard breaths as he tried to find his words. "Screw you...bitch."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and twisted the knife which allowed another scream fit to ensue. "Mmm. That's not what I'm looking for Mark!" Natalie added another twist to the knife and Mark began to squirm in his seat. "Come on Mark! Give me something! Where is Elais?"

Mark's head leaned back, not trying at all to hold back his screams. "You're a crazy bitch!"

Natalie yanked the knife out of his shoulder and walked around to stand in front of him again. "You think calling me a bitch is an insult? You should really brush up on that." She brought the knife up to his sweaty, white-washed face that was colored by the deep red from the blood streaming from his nose and dangled it, tauntingly in front of him. "Now, I'm gonna ask again. Where is he?"

"Go to hell."

"Wrong answer." Natalie stabbed the knife into his left thigh. His body tensed and his hands strained in their bonds as he filled the room with his pain endused screams. "You going to tell me now?" She asked, teasing him by pretending to twist the knife.

"No."

Natalie let out a huff and shook her head. "You really are stubborn aren't you?" She asked as she walked back over to the table to pick up another gallon of holy water and the jar of salt. When she made her way make over to him, she uncapped the holy water and set it down next to her on the floor, then opened up the jar of salt.

"You sure you don't want to say anything?" She asked, holding up the salt so that he could see it. Even though she could see the hesitation in his eyes, he wasn't going to tell her anything in that moment.

To answer this, Natalie pulled out the knife from his leg and poured some of the salt into the freshly made wound. Mark's screams had become hoarse, yet, the pain that poured from them made Dean and Bobby want to stop the session. They felt for Natalie, this was to much for them to handle. Though, Natalie wasn't done. She casually picked up the gallon and poured holy water into the salted wound, which turned Mark's hoarse screams into shrieks of bloody murder.

"Okay! Okay!" Mark finally managed to call out, halting Natalie's pouring session. "Okay, I'll tell you."

Natalie pursed her lips and set down the gallon. "Where is Elais?"

Mark took a moment to catch his breath, knowing that it was hard enough to talk just a few seconds ago. "T-the last I heard about him...he was in Missouri. That was the last place I heard he was in."

Natalie nodded, glad with the small progress. "Okay. So he's occupying a body. Who is he possessing?"

"Oh screw off, I told you what you wanted."

Natalie picked up the salt and holy water, stood up and poured them into his shoulder wound causing him to struggle in his seat. When both the container and gallon were empty, Natalie dropped the items and leaned his chair back slightly, making sure to press her fingers against his shoulder, pushing the salt deeper into his wound.

"What body is Elais possessing?" Natalie asked again.

"Okay...okay." Mark said, whimpering at the pressure. "He's...the last I heard he was possessing some local business man. Well known guy..."

"His name?" Natalie asked, but, when Mark didn't answer she pressed more into his shoulder, feeling his blood coating her hand as it streamed down her hand. "His name?!"

"Aaron Whitfield!" Mark finally answered, hoping that it would stop her from continuing her brutal treatment.

"And the name is legit? That's is what you last heard?" She asked, making sure to clarify his information.

"Yes! Yes, that's the truth!"

"And you said that you weren't apart of Amdusias's legian?" Mark gave her a weak shake clearly still to focused on her painful pressure. Once she trusted the information, Natalie leaned away from Mark, her eyes scanning him up and down. Thinking, that this was the quickest torture she had done. Most of the others took her hours to crack them.

"Thanks for your cooperation Mark."

Turning around, she motioned for Sam, Bobby and Dean to follow her as she made her way out of the room. Clara, David and Jake were waiting, all of their faces were grim with what they had heard coming from the other room.

"Well, I managed to crack him. Elais was last possessing a guy by the name of Aaron Whitfield. And he was in Missouri. So, maybe, you guys can get to work on finding this guy."

David and Jake both slowly nodded their heads. "Yeah, uh, we'll get right to that." David answered and then walked back upstairs with Jake following him.

Clara continued to stare at Natalie. The combination of the blood on her hand and the looks on the other's faces, she knew that this was something Natalie needed to stop.

Natalie could feel multiple eyes on her and she could sense the scrutiny that were pouring from them. "Aunt Clara. You can go and perform the exorcism now." She said as she began to walk back upstairs.

Clara quickly grabbed her arm, forcing Natalie to stop. "I heard what he said...about your mom and dad."

"Don't, Aunt Clara please-"

"It's not your fault Nad. I know you blamed yourself for what happened. Don't let him get to you because it's not true. And I can see you are hurting right now."

Natalie looked up at Clara and she could hear her Aunt suck in a small breath at the tears that were brimming in her eyes. "I'm fine, Aunt Clara." She answered, the break in her voice was evident. "Just go perform the exorcism." Natalie yanked her arm from Clara's grasp and walked back upstairs.

* * *

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Not a lot of time had passed since the torturing, but, usually by now Natalie would have forgotten about. Actually, not necessarily forgotten, but, she would have moved on by now...but, she hasn't. The looks on Dean, Bobby and even Sam's faces were burned into her mind. Mark's screams continued to echo around in her head. For some reason, when she thought about it, she wasn't thinking about the demon...she was thinking about the actual person. The more she thought about it, she began to feel like she was torturing the person...not the demon.

But, that thought would get shot down when she remembered what the demon had said to her. _It's your fault it happened. You killed your parents._Those words hit her harder than she had expected. It was one thing to witness it and think about it. But, to hear it from the mouth of a demon, that was apart of the species that was responsible for her parent's death, it was unbearable. In a way, it made the events of their deaths even more real.

Standing in the kitchen, Natalie leaned her back against the wall, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself from the nights events. But, as she continued to think about it, Natalie felt her tears stream down her face and her hands covered her mouth, quieting the sobs that were escaping.

Really, she didn't know why she was crying all of a sudden. She didn't know why she was letting that demon get to her like this. Though, Natalie could only surmise, that all of the stress with Dean and Bobby and then the whole thing with Sam being soulless. All of it had been weighing her down and tonight was the icing on the cake.

All the pent up emotions that had come from this entire year and the recent events were finally breaking their way through. Instead of holding them back, Natalie decided to just let everything come through. She was tired to holding it back. Usually, by now, Natalie would have gotten a long lecture from both Sam, Dean and Bobby. And the one person she would have gone to was Sam. He would have told her that everything was going to be fine. But, that wasn't going to happen tonight...or any other night for quite sometime.

Natalie could feel her sobs slowly diminishing into small chokes and the tears finally stopped. She tiredly wiped at the trail stains on her cheeks and took in a breath. _I need some air. _Natalie pushed herself away from the wall and turned to walk down the main hallway when she stoppped at the sight of Dean standing in the entryway of the kitchen.

Her mouth fell slightly agape and by the look on his face, she knew that he had seen everything. Usually, Natalie would have done whatever she could to cover up something like this, but, she decided against it. Her arms hung numbly by her side as she waited for Dean to give her the long awaited lecture she had been anticipating.

Dean could see the tiredness in her eyes and the way she held herself right now, she just looked broken. He knew that it was only a matter of time before all of this finally cracked down on her. Dean wanted to tell her not to do this again, he wanted to go into a huge talk about why she should stop. And although it was the one thing he wanted to do, Dean refrained himself from doing so. Natalie had already went through a lot tonight and he didn't want to make it worse.

Natalie wiped at her eyes again, feeling a little uncomfortable to the fact that he was just staring at her and not saying anything. She raised her arms in a tired, defeated gesture. "Are you not going to rip into me?" Her voice trembled towards the end. "Because I probably deserve it. I mean look what I did to myself."

Dean slowly walked around and carefully wrapped his arms around Natalie, holding her in a comfortable yet firm hold. Natalie rested her head against his shoulder as her arms tightened around him.

"It's going to be fine, Nad." Dean reassured her, as his hand cradled the back of her head.

Natalie closed her eyes, feeling them fill with tears at his words. It was his words that brought her some kind of comfort and reassurance that everything was going to turn out right. Their hunt for Elais. And the task of getting Sam's soul back. She knew that Dean's words were hopeful reassurance for not only what happened tonight, but, for everything that was coming their way.

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**So how did you all like it? Did you like dark!nad? If so, would you possibly like to see more of her? Let me know! Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N:I wanted to get this chapter up last weekend but homework was just hounding me. So I was able to finish it today and was finally able to upload it! Since it's Labor Day weekend this week I HOPE that I will be able to get another chapter up for you guys. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

The house was quiet all through the night, except for the sounds of Clara performing the exorcism, which Natalie made sure not to listen to it. Natalie had locked herself up in the study, not allowing anyone in. Bobby, Dean, Clara, Jake...not even Sam, even though he didn't really try to talk with her. She didn't want to talk with them about it since she didn't have the mental capacity to do so. The one thing she needed after all of that, was to be alone.

After keeping herself away from the others throughout the entire night, Natalie finally emerged from the room and made her way into the kitchen. David, Jake, and Clara were standing near the kitchen counter, talking to each other, no doubt about last night's events.

Clara turned and looked at Natalie, offering a small smile. "Hey, Nad."

Natalie gave her Aunt a nod as she looked around the room. "Where are they?"

"Outside. Dean and Sam are getting the Impala ready. I asked them to get it ready so they could get you out of here. Back out on the road. You don't need to stay here any longer, Nad."

Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "Did you guys start the search for Aaron Whitfield?"

"Yeah, we did." David answered. "It's gonna take some time, but, we are working on it. You don't need to worry, Nad."

Natalie remained silent, but, David knew that it was her way of acknowledging what he had said. "Well. Then, I guess I should get going then."

Clara walked out from behind the counter and over towards Natalie, her hands bracing against her shoulders. "Don't worry about this Nad. Don't think about it, alright? Just try and forget it."

Natalie gave her Aunt a sad smile. "I don't think it'll work. You know me. Every time I try to forget about something...I always fail at it."

Clara wrapped her arms around Natalie, pulling her close. "Just try Nad."

Natalie nodded as her arms tightened around Clara. "Promise you won't keep anything from me." She quickly whispered. "If you find him...promise me you will tell me. Don't keep that away from me."

Clara sighed holding Natalie closer to her. "I promise Nad." She gave Natalie a few reassuring rubs on her back, which for the time being, allowed Natalie's mind to calm a bit more.

Pulling away, Natalie glanced over at David and Jake, giving them both a smile which they returned. Looking back at Clara, she received only a nod, ushering her to go ahead and leave. Natalie turned around and headed out the door.

Once outside, Natalie spotted Bobby standing near the Impala, talking with Dean and Sam. Slipping her hands into her jean pockets, she slowly made her way over to them. Bobby paused his conversation when he saw Natalie approach them and, instead, gave her a small smile.

"How are you doing Nad?"

Natalie gave Bobby a small shrug, giving a quick glance over to Dean and Sam. "Fine."

"You ready to get out of here?" Dean was the one to ask next.

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded, absentmindedly. "First, I just need to talk with Bobby."

Dean raised his brows and nodded, giving Bobby a look. "Okay, that's fine. We'll uh...give you two some time."

Bobby guided Natalie away from the Impala, allowing the two of them some decent privacy. "What's going on Nad?"

"I, um." Natalie began and ran a hand through her hair. "I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."

Giving her a bemused look, Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about what?"

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Everything. From what you saw me do last night..." She could see his expression change. "...and everything else." She added quickly. "I'm sorry...especially, with how I acted with the whole thing about you...knowing that Sam was alive."

Bobby's shoulders tensed up and he sucked in a breath. "Nad. You know that I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know Bobby." Natalie interrupted him, wanting to get her point across. "But, I have taken a lot of time to think about it and I was able to accept what you did and I understand it. I know why you did what you did and...I forgive you Bobby. I'm sorry for how brash I was towards all of it."

Bobby's face softened with a smile and he gently pulled Natalie into his arms. "You got nothing to be sorry about kiddo. This past year was not good and I know. There is nothing for you to be sorry about. But, now everything can try and go back to how it was before."

Natalie's arms around Bobby, tightened as the thought of Sam being soulless soon flooded her mind. "Except for Sam." She whispered and she could hear the pain in her voice. "He's not Sam, Bobby...he's not..."

Bobby instinctively tightened his hold on her. "I know, Nad. I know." He said, trying his best to soothe her. "Dean told me. We're gonna get his soul back Nad. We're gonna fix this."

"I hope so, Bobby." Natalie finally dropped her hold around him and looked up at Bobby, seeing that he was giving her some sort of reassurance, which she accepted.

"You better get going. Don't want to keep the boys waiting." Bobby said, gently ushering her towards the car. "Dean. Sam." Bobby called out, then motioned them over to him. He gave Natalie the go to get inside the car, telling her that he wanted to talk with Sam and Dean alone.

Natalie gave Bobby one last glance before making her way over to the car.

"Yeah?" Dean asked once he and Sam were standing in front of Bobby.

"Now, you three find a job. Any job. I don't care where, just find one and stick to it. Nad's gonna need something to get her mind off of all this."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan."

"Also." Bobby started, giving the boys a look. "You _two _watch her closely." Bobby said, thought his attention was more directed towards Dean, since he knew it wasn't much use to pound this into Sam's head. "She's not...in the right mind set right now. So, keep an eye on her."

Dean nodded solemnly. "You know we will Bobby."

Bobby eyed Dean briefly, and then looked over at Sam, who gave him a few nods. "Okay, you three get going then."

Dean and Sam turn away and make their way over to the car, quickly getting in. Starting up the engine, Dean slowly drove down the pathway leading back onto the main road.

* * *

"Of course it's not UFO's. It's fairies."

Natalie paused and blinked a few times, giving the woman a confused look.

Dean cleared his throat and tilted his head. "Fairies. Okay. Well, thank you for your input."

"What? Flying saucers not insane enough for you?" Sam asked in almost a mocking tone.

"What newspaper did you say you worked for?" The woman asked them.

"Okay, if you want to add glitter to that glue you're sniffing, that's fine, but don't dump your whackadoo all over us. We'd rather not step in it."

Natalie's eyes widened as she grabbed Sam's arm and began to pull him away. "Okay! We are done here." She looked over at Dean, silently telling him to get Sam away from this woman.

"The only thing you're missing is a couple dozen cats, sister." Sam added, as Dean began to lead him away.

"Sorry. Very sorry about that." Natalie quickly apologized to the woman before following Dean and Sam back towards the car. "Well, that was just awesome Sam."

"What?"

Dean scoffed. "Right you have to ask."

"Come on, you seriously can't believe what that lady was saying." Sam added.

"Sam that's not the point." Natalie answered, casting him a scolding look. "You don't get go all out on people like that."

"Really though, this all has to be a joke. I mean we're not actually taking this UFO crap seriously, are we?"

"Come on Sam. ET is made of rubber. Everybody knows that. But there are four legitimate vanishings in this town. Something's going on."

"And don't you think that it might be a good idea to check it out. See what's going on?" Natalie asked him, casting a quick glance.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam finally relented.

"Oh and Sam? By the way, it's not that lady's fault that she took the brown acid." Dean added.

Sam gave his brother a look. "So?"

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. "Empathy, man. Empathy. I mean, the old Sam would have given her some wussified, dew-eyed crap."

"Yeah, well, old Sam had a soul-was a soul. Whatever."

Natalie bit down on her lip upon hearing the carelessness in his voice. "Yeah. And that means you are going to have to start taking things into consideration. I don't care if you feel like you need to or not."

Sam huffed out in annoyance. "Right." He replied, not a hint of enthusiasm could be located in his tone.

"Right?" Dean repeated. "Right, as in, what, you don't care?" Dean could see the look on Sam's face and that was the only answer he needed. "Sam, you have to care." Dean answered as they reached the car.

"About what? What am I supposed to care about?"

Natalie stared at Sam and scoffed. "About what? About...everything Sam. You need to care about everything around you."

"Care enough to the point you will be human at least." Dean added.

"Look you two obviously care. A lot. And that's great. But, I can't care because I just...don't care. What do you two want me to do, fake it?"

Dean and Natalie remained silent for a moment. "Yes." They both spoke.

"Just fake it. Fake it as much as you need to." Dean said.

"What happened with you wanting me to be honest about everything?"

Dean raised his arms up. "Hey, you wanna be a real boy, Pinnochio, you gotta act the part. Got it?"

"I was faking it Dean! I mean ever since we got back on the road together-even when Nad started hitching along again, I was picking every freaking word. It's exhausting."

Natalie slowly shook her head and blinked. "I can't believe I am hearing this right now."

Dean raised his hand up to try and calm down the scene. "Alright. Just...until we get you back on the soul train, we'll be your conscience, okay?"

"So, basically, like Jiminy Cricket."

"Shut up." Dean opened the driver side door. "But yeah, you freaking puppet. That's exactly what I'm saying." He said, before sliding into the car.

Natalie sighed heavily and opened the car door and quickly got in.

* * *

Entering the shop, the three of them quickly spot a man sitting at a table. Dean looks at him curiously, then leads the way towards him. "Mr. Brennan?" He asked.

The man stopped and turned to them. "Yes?"

"We're with The Mirror. We would like to ask you a few questions."

"What? Is this about Patrick?" Mr. Brennan asked, only to receive a nod from them. "Patrick's gone."

"Missing. Right. That's what we wan to talk to you about." Dean added.

"Now your son was the first to disappear." Sam began.

"First to be taken." Mr. Brennan interrupted.

Natalie's brows furrowed at the certainty in his voice. "Taken?"

"Just get out!"

Natalie stepped back slightly at the sudden change in his mood.

"Mr. Brennan, who do you believe took your son?" Dean began to question, hoping to get something else out of him.

"You people can't help me. My boy is never coming back."

"You sound awfully sure." Sam pointed out.

Mr. Brennan gave Sam a confused look. "Excuse me?"

"Like you know something you're not talking about."

"Okay. Alright." Dean stepped in, before Sam could go any further.

"You know what they say. 72 hours. After that, the odds of finding a missing person drop to nothing, right?" Mr. Brennan asked.

"Not all cases are like that." Natalie said, trying to offer some reassurance.

"It's been weeks."

Natalie pursed her lips and dropped her gaze from him.

"Listen. Call us if anything comes to mind." Dean said, handing him a card.

The three of them turned around and made their way out of the shop. Once they were back out on the street, Dean let out a scoff. "Well, wasn't that just a pleasant thing."

"So what do you think?" Sam asked, as they made their way over to the Impala.

"Well, I think he's hiding something." Dean answered.

"You think he might have something to do with his son going missing?" Natalie was the next to the ask.

"Maybe, can't be to sure. Why don't you two stay here and watch Mr. Watchmaker and see what happens when the sun goes down and I'll go check out the crop circles."

"Okay." Sam said quickly.

Natalie let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Alright."

Dean gave Natalie a small look and then turned his attention to Sam. "Listen, I don't want you to engage with him or maim or in any way kill Brennan. That's why I'm having Nad stay with you. Whatever she says, you go with, got it?"

Sam gave Dean a half nod. "Yeah, I got it."

Dean nodded at his brother's answer before looking back over at Natalie. "You okay with this Nad?"

With a shrug, she gave him a half hearted smile. "I'm fine with it. Seems pretty easy enough."

"Okay." Dean made his way around the car over to the drivers side and stopped to look back at them. "If anything happens, you two call me."

Natalie gave Dean a salute of acknowledgement which was enough for him. Natalie and Sam watched as Dean got into the car and then drove away from them. After a moment, she looked up at him and gave him a small nudge in the arm causing him to look down at her.

"Come on, let's go see what Mr. Brennan does for his free time."

* * *

**So what did you all think? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: So I am considering the possibility of getting a BETA reader from now on. That way I can get an extra hand on these chapters. Not to sure yet. Random thought, sorry about that._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

A waitress walks over to a table and sets down a beer in front of Sam, who in return, offers the woman a smirk. As she walks back over to the counter, Sam sneaked a quick look at her and hummed in approval. Picking up his beer he looks up at Natalie, seeing that he was receiving a hardened stare from her.

His brows furrowed quickly. "What?"

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What?" Sam asked again.

"Nothing." Natalie replied, focusing her attention back on Mr. Brennan who was currently sitting over at the bar, drinking. "Well, to be honest, I'm not getting much from this guy. Other than the fact that he loves his drinks...I mean he really loves them."

Sam took another drink from his beer then turned around in his seat, looking over at Mr. Brennan. "Yeah." He then pulled out his cell phone. "Let me call Dean."

"Okay." Natalie quickly looked over at Sam before looking back over at Mr. Brennan.

_"What?" _Dean's voice came through from the other end.

"Hey. So the only thing we can tell that this guy is up to is alcoholism." Sam said into the phone.

_"Okay, good." _

"I don't know. Maybe Nad and I should try and talk to him again. I mean, you're the one who said he's hiding something."

_"Shh." _

Sam stopped and turned back around in his seat, facing Natalie. "What's going on Dean?"

Natalie's attention focused on Sam once the words left his mouth.

_"Hang on a second." _Dean spoke and a brief silence followed. _"Holy. UFO! UFO!"_

Sam pulled the phone away from his ear, cringing at the loudness in Dean's voice but it put Natalie on edge. "Whoah! Dude stop yelling, you're breaking up. I didn't catch that last part."

_"Close encounter! Close encounter!" _

Sam's eyes widened. "Close encounter!"

Natalie leaned up in her seat towards Sam. "What's going on?"

"What kind? First? Second?" Sam asked, ignoring Natalie's question.

_"They're after me!" _

"Third kind already? You better run, man. I think the fourth kind is a butt thing."

"Sam give me the phone." Natalie leaned forward, her arm reaching out towards Sam's phone only to have him quickly hit her hand away. She stared at him, eyes slightly widened, and received a look from Sam. "Did you just..." Natalie once again went after the phone only to have Sam grab onto her arm and move it away from him.

"Are they still after you?" Sam asked, making sure to keep Natalie from getting his phone.

"Sam! Give me the phone!" Natalie tried getting her arm out of his grip. She brought her other arm over, finally grabbing onto Sam's phone. "Give me the damn phone!" Yanking it from his hand Natalie moved away and placed the phone to her ear.

"Dean? Hello? You there?" Natalie pulled the phone away when they didn't receive a response. "Well that's just great." She said turning back to Sam. "What did he say?"

Sam shrugged. "Uh, said something about 'they're after him'."

Natalie stared at Sam for what felt like forever. The lack of emotion in his voice seemed to snap something in her when she suddenly hit him on the shoulder. Sam looked up at her, brows creased in confusion. "What the hell was that for?"

"Seriously Sam! Do you not think that something really bad might have happened?"

Sam simply shrugged. "I don't know. We'll go and see what happened soon."

Natalie scoffed and threw another hit at Sam's shoulder.

"Nad! Seriously!" Sam complained.

"God you are just so...just so..." Natalie tossed the phone back over to him. "God just never mind." She said before turning around and headed for the door.

Sam caught the phone and slid it into his pocket. "Wait, Nad, where are you going?"

Natalie stopped and looked back over to Sam. "I'm going to find Dean. So just stay here if you want to. I'll handle it myself. Just, when you get done with your beer, make yourself useful and see if there is anything you can find on...UFOs."

She cringed to herself just by saying the words

Not waiting for his answer, Natalie turned around and threw open the door and walked out, heading down the sidewalk. "Okay. Cornfield. First, I need a flashlight...back at the motel." Natalie said to herself as she began to make her way back to the motel.

* * *

There was nothing but an eerie silence that surrounded Natalie as she quietly walked through the cornfield. Her flashlight raised up in front of her while she fought with her other arm in pushing the corn stalks out of her way.

"And to think, after seeing _Signs, _I vowed to never walk in a cornfield. Well look at me now." Natalie said to herself.

A subtle wind soon blew from behind Natalie, causing the corn stalks to rustle and bend in various directions. The sound and the sight of this caused a shiver to go down her spine. Natalie quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Sam's number, wanting to know if he found anything yet.

The ringing went on until it went to voicemail. Natalie re-dialed out Sam's number and pressed the phone back to her ear only to receive his voicemail.

"Sam." Natalie spoke after the beep. "Hey, why aren't you answering your phone? Anyway call me back. Let me know if you found anything yet."

Pulling the phone away, she then quickly dialed Dean's number and put the phone back to her ear.

After the first ring, the very faint sound of music began to play. She stopped walking and looked around her in all directions. Finally, she was able to narrow down the direction in which the music was coming from. The ringing soon stopped and went to Dean's voicemail prompting Natalie to re-dial his number which made the music play once again, but, this time it was closer.

Natalie continued following the music which ultimately led her to a clear pathway that was created by god only knows. But, on the ground in front of her, she spotted a small light which was the source of the music. Natalie quickly ran over to the phone and picked it up and ended the call on her phone.

Looking up, her eyes scanned the area in front of her and she let out a breath. "Great. Dean, you really were abducted."

Her attention soon caught onto the slow, distant rumble from an engine and it sounded an awful lot like the Impala. Standing back up, Natalie brought up the flashlight and followed the path towards the noise. Soon she came to a clearing and ahead, she spotted the headlights from the Impala.

With a sigh, Natalie pulled out her phone and began to dial out a number. "Hope you pick up this time Sam."

"There's no need for that."

Natalie jumped and turned around to see Sam standing behind her and she lowered the phone. "God...dammit Sam!"

Sam gave her a look. "What?"

"You don't just...walk up behind me like that. Seriously, I didn't even hear you." Natalie said as she put the phone back into her pocket. "Why weren't you answering my calls?"

"Like you told me to, I tried to find something and I think I know a place where we could go to get info."

Natalie gave him an expectant look. "Why didn't you just call me and tell me so I could meet you there?"

Sam remained quiet then gave her a shrug. "I don't know."

Natalie's eyes closed and she took in a breath. "Okay. Well where is this place at?"

"I'll show you. Get in the car." Sam walked past Natalie towards the Impala.

* * *

Sam flips through a small stack of papers and then looks back up. "So, UFO's...they are real then."

"Like I said before, son, the truth is out there." Wayne offered.

Natalie takes the papers from Sam and begin to skim through them. "Okay, you're the expert. How do I get them?"

Wayne gave Sam a look. "Come again?"

"You hunt ET's, right? I need to know how to get them."

"You and me both." Wayne scoffed.

Natalie finishes skimming through the papers and then looks down on the table at the various research that Wayne had compiled. "So...all of this right here is all you have?"

Wayne gave her a nod. "30 years of eyewitness accounts speak for themselves as incontrovertible proof."

"Yeah, right." Sam interrupted. "My brother was abducted so I'm pretty good on the whole proof part."

"You're brother was abducted?" The voice of a woman came through prompting Sam and Natalie to turn around.

"Yeah." Sam blatantly stated. "It's fine. I mean, I've had time to adjust."

Natalie glared at Sam long enough for him to catch onto and he gave her a shrug. "Anyways." Natalie said turning back to Wayne. "So you don't have anything that could help us to try and find these things."

"No. Nothing that I could come across."

"So, you've been hunting UFO's for over three decades and you basically have no concrete data and zero workable leads." Sam scoffed at the look on Wayne's face. "Have you considered the possibility that you suck at hunting UFO's?"

"Okay!" Natalie quickly pushed Sam to the side "How about you take a little breather?" She quietly said to him. Natalie leaned her hands on the table in front of her. "Listen, if someone were to get abducted, is there anything we can do?"

"There is nothing. If someone did get abducted it could take weeks, months hell maybe even years if they were to ever show up."

Natalie huffed and shook her head. "You have to have something that can help me."

"Sorry. You looking for your brother right?"

"No, he's not my brother he's my friend and I need to get him back."

Wayne shrugged and shook his head. "I'm sorry. Wish there was more that I could tell you."

Natalie nodded and bit down on her lip. "Okay. Thanks." Wayne gave her a nod then walked back into his trailer.

"Okay, Sam we need to-" Natalie turned to her side to find that Sam was no longer there. Looking around her she didn't spot the young woman either, that only meant one thing. "Oh this is just fantastic. Gone to get yourself screwed. That's just great."

Natalie took one last look around the camp and then began to head out back to the cornfield. "I'll just do this myself then."

* * *

Finding herself back in the cornfield, all she wanted to do was figure out a way to get Dean back. How she was going to accomplish this, she had absolutely no idea. She fought demons, vampires, werewolves, ghouls and yet, when it comes to UFO's everything seemed so new to her.

Wielding her flashlight in front of her, she began to retrace the steps that she had taken earlier when she came out here. Her ringtone soon began to go off which made her stop and pull out her phone.

Looking down at the screen she could see a few text messages that Clara had sent her, in her mind, she felt that it was about their demon. She went to read one of them when she began to hear yelling coming from the clearing. Her head snapped up when she heard this and she didn't break out into a run until gunshots followed.

Her arms pushed the corn stalks aside as she ran through the fields, hoping that she wouldn't trip. Finally coming to the clearing, she spotted Dean wielding his gun around and she was more than happy to see that he was fine.

"Dean!" Natalie called out as she made her way over to him. "Dean."

Dean stopped and looked over at Natalie, finally able to take in his surroundings, realizing he was back. "Nad."

Natalie nodded. "Hey, you alright? Though that's probably not the best question for me to ask."

"No. No, I'm fine." Dean said, though Natalie gave him a doubtful look.

Dean looked around them. "Where's Sam?"

Natalie sighed. "He's back at the motel. Having some fun."

Dean took a moment and then his face lightened with realization. "Oh. Wait he just went off and left you?"

"Yeah. Actually I am not surprised about that. Anyways, let's get you back to the motel." Natalie offered. "Oh and..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Guess I should give this back to you." She said, handing it over to him.

Dean nodded in thanks and looked over at the spot where he had left the Impala. "Where's the car?"

Natalie looked over to where Dean was talking about. "Sam took it. It's back at the motel. We're gonna have to walk, hope that's fine with you."

"Yeah, either way, it means I get out of this damn cornfield."

Natalie gave him a small smile. "Alright, then. Let's go."

* * *

The two of them finally made it to the motel parking lot and Dean let out a relieved laugh. Natalie stopped, remembering the messages and then pulled out her phone. She continued her walk to the motel, thought at a slower rate, making sure to read the messages thoroughly.

_Manage to track down not Aaron, but a few people who knew him. Said that they haven't seen him in months. _

Natalie quickly typed out a message back. _You think Elais is still using Aaron as his own meat suit?" _

Natalie walked fully up to the motel door where Dean was currently standing. Once she reached him, she looked over his shoulder, seeing Sam in bed with the woman from the camp. "Oh god." Natalie turned away and leaned up against the motel window.

"Please just hurry up, put your clothes on." Dean said to both Sam and the woman. He then looked over at Natalie seeing the look on her face. Dean moved away from the door allowing the woman through.

When the woman saw Natalie, she gave her a small smile though it was only answered by Natalie's hardened glare. It only made the woman walk away faster. Natalie pushed herself away from the window and walked into the motel room, shutting the door behind her.

"You're upset. I know both of you are." Sam began.

"No, really?!" Dean called out. "I was abducted and you were here screwing with Patchouli."

Sam made a face. "I didn't think she smelled that bad."

Dean stared at his brother incredulously. "I was abducted by aliens Sam!"

"I was looking into it."

Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah, right. As far as I'm concerned Nad was the only one doing something about it. And, besides, I was gone for like an hour."

Both Sam and Natalie stare at Dean confusingly. "An hour-"

"Dean you weren't gone for an hour." Natalie said.

"Of course I was."

Natalie slowly shook her head. "Dean...it's four a.m."

"No it's not." Dean looked around and saw the clock on the night table read four a.m. "What the hell?"

"UFO Time slip!" Sam suddenly called out. "That actually falls in line with a lot of abduction stories."

"Falls in line..." Sam nodded. "Nothing about this is falling in line."

Natalie walked over to Dean and ushered him over to one of the beds and sat him down. "Okay, Dean, just take it easy." Natalie walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Here." She said handing it to him.

"Thanks." Dean popped open the bottle and took a drink.

Natalie leaned against the kitchen table, arms crossed over her chest as Sam sat on the other bed. "What happened Dean?" She asked.

"Well, there was this..." Dean let out a laugh. "God help me, there was this bright white light."

Sam offered Dean a forced sympathetic look and patted his legs, which made both Natalie and Dean to give him a look. "It's okay. Safe room."

Though there was something about the way Sam said this that caused Natalie to almost smirk, but, she pursed her lips and rubbed her neck to avoid it.

"And then suddenly, I was, uh, I was in a different place. There were these beings, and they were too bright to look at, but I could feel them pulling me towards this sort of table-"

"A probing table." Sam exclaimed. Natalie cringed at the thought and Dean groaned in disgust.

"God don't say that out loud!"

"Right. So what did you do?" Sam continued.

"I went crazy. I started hacking and slashing and firing. They actually seemed surprised. I don't think anybody's ever done that before. Yeah." Dean stood up from the bed and look at Sam and Natalie. "I had a close encounter and I won."

Sam nodded silently. "You should take a shower."

Dean nodded in agreement. "Yeah I should take a shower. I'm...I'm gonna take a shower now."

Natalie stood in silence allowing Dean's account to fully sink in and then she hummed to herself. "Aliens. Awesome."

* * *

**So how did you all like it? Yes, I put in a reference to Signs because that movie scared the crap out of me as a kid and even to this day, I refuse to walk in a cornfield. Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Ugh I hate having these long periods in-between updates! School hasn't lighten up yet, which really bums me out and it's taking me longer to get these chapters written out. Hopefully I will be able to catch a break soon. _

_On to something happier, so these past few days have been filled with amazing things for us spn fans. First the Mockumentary and the S9 Bloopers. And now, have you all seem the season 10 promo? Ugh, I am so excited for October 7th! If you haven't seen it go and watch it! _

_Also on another note, I was thinking about making a twitter or something solely for my fanfiction account and I can keep you guys up to date with certain things and it also gives you guys the chance to ask me questions if you want. I don't know. What do you guys think? Let me know! Now onto the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"So, to recap on all of this. Along with the demons and the angels and the ghosts and the freaking skinwalkers, it turns out there are actually..." Dean paused, silently mulling over his words.

Natalie looked over at him, her cheek resting against her palm, waiting for him to continue.

"If aliens are actually real, then what's next? Hobbits? I mean seriously."

Natalie sighed and tapped the fingers from her other hand on the table. "I don't know. The more I think about it...I mean from what we've seen..." Pausing, she could see the look on Dean's face and she shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. It's weird."

Dean looked back over at Sam, who gave the waitress a look. "You just gave her the silent how ya doin'." Dean spoke out.

Sam looked at him, brows creased slightly. "What?"

"Our reality's collapsing around us, and you're trying to up our waitress?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, okay. Look. Brings up a question. So, say you got a soul and you're on a case, and your brother gets abducted by aliens-"

"Yeah, then you do everything you can to get him back." Dean finished.

"Right. You do, but, what about when there are no more leads for the night? Are you supposed to just sit there in the dark and suffer, even when there's nothing can that can be at that moment?"

Dean and Natalie remain silent, both of them staring down at Sam. "Yes! That's exactly what you do." Dean finally answered.

Though Sam seemed to genuinely confused. "What?"

"Yes, you sit in the dark a-and you feel the loss." Dean explained further.

"Absolutely! But couldn't I just do all that and have sex with the hippie chick?"

Natalie moved her hand through her hair finally letting out a snort which caught both of the boys' attention. Looking back up she slowly shook her head. "Sorry. Don't mind me over here."

"You're finding this to amusing Nad." Dean remarked.

"Yeah, well that's my way of trying to find some light in all of this." Natalie explained, settling back against her chair.

Dean sighed and looked back over at his brother when the waitress hands them their recipe. "Thank you." Dean said to her as she walked away.

"Well then why not?" Sam asked, returning back to their previous conversation.

"Because if you had a freaking soul, your soul wouldn't let you." Dean answered.

"So you're saying having a soul equals suffering." Sam added.

Dean nodded and placed down a tip on the table. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Like, the million times you almost called Lisa." Sam said, receiving a look from Dean. "So you're saying suffering is a good thing."

"I'm saying it's the only game in town." Dean said.

"Okay. So how do we deal with the little green men?" Sam asked.

"Research." Dean answered causing Natalie to hum in response. "We've got about a century of UFO lore to catch up on, and there's not time for-" Dean stopped as he looked out the diner window, spotting a man glaring at him.

"What's up with that guy?" Dean said, keeping his eyes fixed on the man.

Natalie and Sam looked at Dean confusingly then follow his gaze towards the window. "Who?" Sam asked.

"The guy by the window giving me the stink eye." Dean replied.

Sam furrowed his brows. "You mean the cop?"

Dean turned to Sam and Natalie then pointed to where he saw the man. "No, not the cop! The guy! He's right-" Dean looked back only to find he was no longer there. "Oh now he's gone."

Sam and Natalie casted a glance at each other and Natalie answered him with a shrug. "Who's gone?" Sam tried again.

Dean looked at Sam. "Can we please just get out of here before I hit you?"

"Okay! Geez."

* * *

Sam was in the library while Dean was still back at the motel. This gave Natalie the perfect time to go take a walk and finally call Clara, see what is going on with the whole Elais situation.

"So, what did you guys manage to get on this Aaron guy?"

_"Well, almost his entire biography. Born 1970 in Missouri. Attended Truman State. Graduated with a degree in Economics. Started his own business at 29. He's a pretty influential man in his area." _

Natalie nodded. "Okay. And is there anything that can clue to us that Elais is in fact possessing him?"

_"From what we are able to gather so far, Aaron is just a normal business man. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for he was in a car accident at the age of 17. Nothing weird." _

Letting out a sigh, Natalie bit down on her lower lip. "Have you guys been able to contact him in any way?"

_"We tried calling his business, told us he was on holiday. We asked where, of course they never told us. Didn't even give us his number." _

"You think maybe some of the workers are some of his demons? Covering up for him?" Natalie asked.

_"I wouldn't put it past him. Ensures that he can cover up his tracks fairly well. Don't worry Nad, we're gonna find him. I'm positive that he's still using Aaron as his vessel." _

"I sure hope so Aunt Clara." Natalie began to make her way back towards the motel.

_"How are things going on with you and the boys?" _

"Uh." Natalie pursed her lips. "Fine, I guess. There's still a lot that I need to tell you. Just..." Natalie paused and looked around. "Just not right now. I've got quite a bit going on."

_"It's fine Nad. How are you doing besides that?" _

"I'm okay. Been focusing on this job so that's helping take my mind off of certain things." Natalie looked head and could see the motel not to far from her. "Okay, Aunt Clara I'm gonna go. Call when you find anything else."

_"Will do." _

Natalie pulled the phone away and ended the call then slid the phone into her pocket. As she made her way up to the motel door, Sam met up with her. "How did all of that research go?"

Sam sighed and gave a slight roll of his eyes. "Too much information on UFOs."

Natalie smirked faintly.

The motel door opened frantically and Dean appeared, his eyes were wide and he quickly ushered them into the room. "Come on! I got it!" He called out as he closed the door and rushed over to the microwave.

Natalie and Sam followed, though confusion was written all over their faces. "Got what?" Natalie asked as she and Sam stood in front of the microwave.

Dean opened up the microwave and waited for their reactions. "You two see it?"

Sam and Natalie peer into the microwave though they saw nothing. "See what?" Sam asked, glancing over at Dean.

"See what?" Dean questioned. "See the blood. See all the blechh." He said motioning to where all the blood was.

Sam looked over at Natalie, who slowly shook her head. "Sorry, Dean. I don't see anything."

"Me either." Sam added.

Dean gave them both an incredulous look. "You don't see the ick?! It's right there."

"Okay, let's go with you see it and we don't. What the hell was it?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed and closed the microwave door then wiped his hand on the towel. "It was a, a little...naked lady, okay?"

"A what?" Both Natalie and Sam asked.

Dean hesitated for a moment. "It was a-it was a little, glowing, hot naked lady. With nipples." Natalie furrowed her brows. "And she hit me."

Pursing her lips, Natalie could tell that Dean had seen something and for whatever reason, her and Sam were unable to see what he was talking about.

"I'm not supposed to laugh right?" Sam asked finally.

Dean gave Sam a hardened look. "Right, okay." Sam said quickly and walked over to his laptop sitting on the kitchen table. "Um. So, shot in the dark here, but did this little lady have wings?"

Dean looked over at Sam, surprised. "What the hell made you say that?"

"She did, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but how did you-"

"One of the fringier theories I came across." Sam said as he opened up his laptop and began typing. "It's actually what crazy crystal lady was yammering about."

Natalie and Dean took a seat at the table.

"What if these abductions have nothing to do with UFOs?" Sam said.

"Wait, what?" Dean asked.

"Okay, say these encounters have been going on for centuries, not with extraterrestrials but with ultra-terrestrials."

Natalie mulled over Sam's words for a few moments. "Wait. Glowing ladies with wings...are you saying that these things are-"

Sam turned around his laptop with an article about fairies. Natalie's face lightened and she let out a small laugh. "No way."

"Smurfs?" Dean questioned.

"Fairies." Sam corrected.

"Fairies? Come on."

"Dean there's a straight line between ET's and fairies. Glowing lights, abductions. It's all the same UFO stuff, just under a different skins."

Dean shook his head. "You seriously think that the secret with UFO's is-"

"Hey, you're the one who pizza rolled Tinkerbell. I'm just doing the math. But this is good. This is a lead."

Natalie stared at Sam for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What kind of lead are you thinking of?"

* * *

Marion poured tea into the tiny cups that were set in front of Sam, Dean and Natalie. "Fairies. Sprites and spriggens. Bogarts and brownies. The little people have many names."

"Well, that's, uh, that's her." Dean said pointing towards a small figurine. "Anyway, I, uh, I get that tinkerbells are fairies, but what about the tiny Santa Claus and the troll and the-"

"That's a garden gnome, and that's a large goblin, and-"

"But they're all fairies?" Dean interrupted.

"Yes." Marion answered.

"And here I just thought fairies were meant to be just small glowing people with wings." Natalie added.

"Faery comes in many shapes and sizes. Magical, mischievous beings from the realm next door." Marion adds on.

"The fairy realm." Dean said.

"Mm-hm."

"So it's technically like another dimension?" Sam asked.

"Another reality. Yes. Only people who have been there and returned to our world can see the Faery here."

"Right, um." Dean clears his throat. "Why are the fairies abducting people?"

"There is much theory and little fact. We know they only take firstborn sons, just like Rumplestiltskin did. Personally, I think they're taken to Avalon to service Oberon, The King of the Faery."

Sam made a face and looked over at Dean. "Dean? Did you service Oberon, King of the Fairies?"

Natalie had to purse her lips together to keep herself from laughing, though Dean gave Sam an unamused look.

"Marion. Um, let's say fairies are real, okay? What can we do about them?" Dean asked.

"Sorry?"

"How can we..." Dean tried to find a way to better explain himself.

"Interact with them."

"Yes, yes. Forcefully interact." Dean clarified.

"Well, if you want to win a faery's favor, leave a bowl of fresh cream. They love cream."

"Okay. And, and, more forcefully?" Dean asked.

"All faery hate iron, and the dark Faery burn when touched with silver. What else. Oh! You can spill sugar or salt in front of them. No matter how powerful, the Faery must stoop to count each grain."

Dean nodded. "Well, thank. That's a lot to absorb. Thank you."

The three of them stood up from their chairs, ready to get out of there as quick as possible. "Oh! Stay please!" Marion stopped them. "Finish your tea."

They looked at each other before slowly sitting back down in their seats. Dean took another gaze around her place. "I gotta say, I, love the feel. It's uh..."

"It's like Sedona, Arizona, crapped in here." Sam finished for him.

Natalie snorted as she picked up her teacup, trying to take a drink from it.

"It's cute-a-riffic! Is what it is." Dean said, hoping to cover up what Sam said.

Natalie began to drink her tea, barely holding in another snort. Setting the cup down she smirked. "Cute-a-riffic." Dean quickly nudged her in the side.

Sam drank his tea and upon finishing it he stared at the tiny cup and then looked back up at Marion. "Do you have bigger cups?"

* * *

As they began to make their way back over to the Impala, Dean shook his arms. "God, is it on me? I feel like I've got the crazy on me."

"No." Sam said taking a look at Dean. "But, you did sit in some glitter though."

Natalie looked at Dean, spotting the glitter Sam was talking about. "I think it suits you very well Dean."

Dean quickly began to wipe away at the glitter. "It doesn't suit me at all. I'll tell you one thing, this makes me want to believe in UFO's again."

"Doesn't really give us the next move, I grant you that. We can always put a call out to Bobby." Sam said.

Upon reaching the Impala, Natalie looked across the street and saw Mr. Brennan walking down the sidewalk with a flat of cream. She quickly tapped Dean's arm and motioned over to Mr. Brennan.

Dean looked over to where Natalie was motioning seeing the same thing. "Hey. I'll be damned. Isn't that the watch guy?"

Sam saw the flat of cream in his arms. "Well, they do love cream."

"Mr. Brennan and a flat of cream. I'm thinking he is our guy." Natalie spoke up already sliding into the backseat.

* * *

The three of them watch from the Impala as Mr. Brennan walking into a store with the cream. "All right. Well you stick with half and half. Nad and I are going to check his store. Oh! And Sam, no hippie chicks."

Sam rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the car and followed Mr. Brennan's last steps.

Dean and Natalie both got out of the car and made their way over to the back door of Mr. Brennan's watch shop. He quickly pulled out the lock picks and quickly got the door open. N

Natalie and Dean quietly snuck into the building and find themselves at the end of a main hallway. They crept down the hallway keeping their eyes peeled, incase Mr. Brennan were to walk in at any moment.

Coming to the door that led to the actual shop, Dean carefully opened the door and they both snuck inside, taking coverage behind the wall. They both peered out from the wall, though Natalie couldn't see anything, looking up at Dean she saw his eyes widen.

"You see them don't you?" Natalie whispered.

Dean nodded and then gently pushed Natalie back. "Let's get out of here."

Once they made it out of the shop, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed out Sam's number.

_"Yeah?" _

"This place man. It's just full of freaking keeblers." Dean spoke into the phone as he and Natalie began walking down the sidewalk.

_"What?" _

"It's like the story with the shoe guy and all the elves. Hey, you think Brennan made a deal with a bunch of fairies?"

_"Let me get back to you." _Sam said before hanging up the phone.

Natalie looked over at Dean as he put away his phone. "We heading back to where Sam is."

"Might as well." Dean said.

The two of them continued their walk though Dean had become very wary not even half way into the walk. Natalie looked over at Dean, just in time to see him peering over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Natalie asked.

Dean takes a hold of Natalie's arm and speeds up his pace, prompting Natalie to do so. When they came to an alleyway he quickly pushed them both out of sight. "Just wait here." Dean said.

After a brief moment, Dean suddenly lunged out of the alleyway and tackles down a person. Natalie's eyes widened and she walked out from the alleyway and saw what was actually happening. He was attacking a little person. "Oh my god."

"What do you want, you fairy? Huh? Little Fairy!" Dean called out as he continued his attack.

"Help!" The little person began to call out.

"Dean! Dean, stop!" Natalie called out as she made her way over to Dean.

"Daddy!" A little girl cried out at the sight of her father being beaten.

Dean stopped and looked up at the little girl then back down to see that it was not a fairy, but a little person. "Oh god no. I'm just kidding!" Dean said, moving away from the man.

Natalie saw a cop beginning to make his way over to Dean and she quickly approached him. "Wait officer, this was just a mistake."

"Please step back." The cop said as he gently pushed Natalie back towards the crowd that had formed. Then turned his attention back to Dean and handcuffs him just as another cop car pulls up.

Natalie let out a deep sigh. "This is just great."

"Dean! Hey!" Natalie turned to see Sam and Brennan making their way towards her.

Dean looked back at Sam and Natalie as he was being led to the cop car. "Sam!"

Sam raised his arms up. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Fight the fairies!" Dean called out as he was pushed into the cop car. "You fight those fairies. Fight the fairies!"

Sam and Natalie watch as the cop car drove off and he turned to her. "What happened?"

Natalie half shrugged. "I don't know. He was acting like someone was following us. And then the next thing I know he's beating on this little person. So what now?"

Sam looked around as the crowd began to disperse. "We go back to Brennan's shop to stop all of this."

"You have a plan on how we're going to do this?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. I'll tell you on the way there."

* * *

Brennan, Sam and Natalie walked into his shop as Sam and Natalie looked around. "Are they here?" Sam asked, talking about the fairies.

"Yeah, but it's all right. Greenhats like tequila." Brennan said as he sneaks over to his safe and pulls out a spell book.

As Brennan began to chant a spell a man in a red ball cap appeared behind him and stabbed him in the back. Natalie's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"You! You're the leprechaun?" Sam questioned.

Wayne gave them both a shrug. "Indeed I am. Sorry about the mess, but your friend here went back on his deal."

"Well, you weren't very clear with him on the terms." Sam reminded him.

"I told him there was a price. Once we come, we come to stay." Wayne explained.

"So you take firstborns and then what do you do with them?" Sam asked.

"Let me guess." Natalie interrupted. "All of these abductions, they get covered up with all of this UFO crap, which by the way, is something that you helped reinforce."

"Nice con." Sam added. "But, it's all over Wayne."

"Over? Why should it be? Brennan is dead. Your brother? He's marked. Been to the ranch. He's ours."

"Yeah. Well. There is the two of us." Sam said.

"You can only see me if I let you." Wayne said only to disappear.

Sam and Natalie looked around the room. "True, but you'll have to get near us eventually, and I have really good reflexes."

Wayne appeared behind them and they both turned to him. "You're not like the rest of them, are you?"

Sam gave him a small smile. "Nope."

"I could see that right off. You're missing a certain piece, right in the center, ain't you?"

"Says who?" Sam questioned.

"We fairy folk? We're all about energy. And the human soul gives off a certain perfume."

Natalie made a face. "Well that sounds really nice."

Wayne smirked and pointed at Sam. "Your soul is far away. But not completely out of reach."

Sam gave him a tilt of the head. "Is that so?"

"Sam, I can get it back for you. For a price."

"That's adorable." Sam answered with a laugh. "It's locked in a box with the devil."

"Your devil. Not mine."

"You're just talking crap." Natalie finally spoke up. "There is no way a leprechaun can do anything like that."

"I'm talking about real magic, you guys. From my side of the fence. Got a way of getting in back doors."

"So you're my blue fairy? You can make me a real boy again?" Sam asked, though there was a small mocking tone to his voice.

"When you wish upon a star." Wayne replied.

Sam pulled out his gun. "I got a wish then." He said as he fired a shot into Wayne's chest.

"Iron! Painful, but not a deal breaker."

Sam aims his gun again and shoots another around into Wayne only to have him disappear. Wayne appeared closer to both of them and threw a punch to Sam's face and kicked him, sending him across the room.

Natalie pulled out Ruby's knife and stabbed it into the back of Wayne's right shoulder. Though it didn't have the desired effect on him. Wayne grabbed hold of the knife and tossed it across the room then punched Natalie across the face several times. He then grabbed her jacket and threw her to the other side of the room.

When her body made contact with the ground she rolled onto her side, letting out a couch as she began to taste blood in her mouth. Wayne walked over to Natalie, putting in a few kicks to Natalie's stomach. Natalie curled up, her arm cradling her stomach, prompting Wayne to turn his attention towards Sam.

Natalie slowly pushed herself up to her knees and began to shake her head. "No. Demons, Angels, Werewolves, I can handle. But I am not about to get my ass kicked by a damn leprechaun." She seethed to herself.

She sat her back to the wall and pulled out a small pouch. "Hey Wayne!" Wayne stopped and turned to her. "I need you to count this for me." She opened the pouch and poured out the salt on the ground.

Wayne's face fell as he dropped to his knees. "Oh no." He said as he began to count the grains of salt.

Sam quickly makes his way over to the spell book and began to finish the chant that Brennan had started. Natalie watched as Wayne continued to count the salt though she could tell that the spell was working.

Looking around, Natalie could see the other fairies on the tables and they slowly disappeared. Focusing her attention back on Wayne, she was able to see him one last time before he to disappeared.

The room went still and Natalie and Sam looked at each other. Sam slowly walked over to Natalie, cringing slightly at a small pain in his side. He took a hold of Natalie's arms and hoisted her back up on her feet.

"Good job, Sam." Natalie said as she wiped the blood from her mouth.

* * *

Natalie was leaning against the trunk of the Impala with Sam next to her. Dean walked over to them handing them both beers. Natalie immediately placed the cold bottle to her cheek which was just beginning to bruise from Wayne having good time punching her.

"It will help the bruising and swelling." Dean said.

"Yeah. Great." Natalie mumbled.

Dean smirked as he opened his beer. "Well. Here's to the tiniest DA. At least they're dropping the charges."

"Little big man." Sam commented.

"You got lucky on that Dean." Natalie said, pulling the bottle away from her cheek and popping the bottle open.

Dean laughed. "You know, I was wondering something."

Sam looked over at Dean. "What?"

"You think Lucky Charms really could have, you know, soul to sender?"

"Come on." Sam scoffed. "It's crazy to think. He did talk a good game though."

"You said no. Why?" Dean questioned.

Sam shrugged as he took a drink. "It was a deal. When's a deal ever been a good thing?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how it works in there." Dean replied.

Sam let out a laugh. "I still have my brain cells. If anything, my brain works better now."

"Just making sure that's where you head's at. That you're not having second thoughts about getting your soul back." Dean clarified.

Natalie looked over at Sam when he didn't respond and she continued to stare at him. "Are you, Sam? Are you starting to think against it?"

Sam looked over at Natalie and shook his head. "No."

* * *

**So how did you all like it?! I am currently working on the next chapter so I am hoping to get it up either tomorrow or Sunday. Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Yay! I was able to finish this chapter before the weekend ended. Two updates in a single weekend. HA! I am so happy about it! Anyways lets get on with the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Dean walked into the abandoned house and tossed his keys onto the table, sighing in frustration. "I'll tell you one thing." He said turning to Natalie and Sam, who were just walking in. "I'm getting sick and tired of doing these runs for Crowley. I'm just about to say screw it. I'm done."

Sam closed the door and casted Dean a look as he stood next to Natalie. "Just calm down Dean."

"These runs are getting us nowhere. We hunt down the damn creature Crowley wants and then we never get to see him." Dean sheds off his jacket and tosses it onto one of the chairs.

Natalie sighed tiredly. "Dean, I know you're frustrated, but Crowley is the only link we have to getting Sam's soul back."

Turning around, he looked over at Natalie. "We have not progressed any further with getting Crowley to yank his soul out. I mean the only change is now I need a daily rape shower."

"Okay, you're right. Let's go with Plan B." Dean and Natalie looked over at Sam. "Oh yeah, we don't have one." Sam mocked. "So till we do, sorry Dean, stock up on soap on a rope. Dean, if you wanna get my soul back, that's what we gotta do, okay?"

Natalie gave Dean a hesitant shrug. "I agree with Sam on this. It's our only chance. We have to just suck it up and do what Crowley needs us to do."

Dean slowly nodded and then glanced over at Sam. "Do you even want it back?"

Sam's face hardened. "I'm working for Crowley, aren't I?"

Dean shrugged before turning towards the fire mantle and pours himself a drink. "Yeah, well, who says he's gonna hold up his end, you now? It is Crowley. You ever think about that?"

Natalie went to say something when a hand covered her mouth and she was soon being dragged out of the room. Her eyes looked wildly around her in an attempt to see her attacker, but all she saw was Sam to the left of her, who was already unconscious, being dragged also. Natalie began to struggle in the attacker's hold when a force came down upon her head and everything went black.

"Right?" Dean asked once again, but when he turned around, he found that Natalie and Sam were gone. "Sam? Nad?" Dean called out, only to receive no answer.

The silence made him feel wary and he slowly drew out his gun, already making his way over towards the adjacent room. Seeing neither Sam or Natalie, Dean continued on until he came to an entryway to another room.

Peering in, he saw Natalie and Sam lying on the ground, unconscious. Dean lowered his gun slightly as he began to walk towards them. A sudden force against his back knocked him to the ground and he quickly lost conscious.

* * *

Dean, Sam and Natalie slowly woke up only to find that they were tied up to chairs. Dean strained in the ropes that had tied him to the chair and he looked up at Sam and Natalie.

"What now?" He asked.

Sam looked up and his expression fell. "I think I know who you can ask."

Natalie followed Sam's gaze to find someone she had not expected to see. "Oh crap,"

Dean looked to the side and only had to see the outline of the person to make him groan. "Evil bitch."

Meg placed her hand on Dean's shoulder and leaned down to him. "Keep sweet talking me, this could go a whole new direction." She walked around and stood in front of Dean.

"Meg. I've been dying to see you again." Dean said.

"Well, here I am, big boy." She finished with a smile. "So, what should we do now?"

"How about I rip you to shreds?"

Meg made a face and hummed. "Kinky, I like. A little Q&A first, if you don't mind. Now, where's your boss?"

"You think we work for somebody?" Sam asked.

"I happen to know for a fact you've been juggling Crowley's orphans. Now where is he?" Meg asked again.

Sam offered her a smirk. "Don't know. Don't care."

"You've been working his beat for months." Meg reminded.

"Doesn't mean we get face time." Sam answered.

Meg nodded, not to pleased with Sam's answers. Turning to Dean, she quickly straddles his lap. "Where's he take all those things you snatch up for him? I bet you an all-day sucker that's where his majesty's holed up."

Meg waited for Dean to answer, but she only received a snarky look from him. "Okay." She quickly pulls out a knife and holds it to his throat. "Foreplay is over. Satisfy, me or I please myself."

Meg's threat was only met by an amused laugh that came from Sam, which made Dean and Natalie look at him, confused at his reaction.

"Something funny, Sam?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah." Sam said with a smirk. "Meg."

Natalie looked from Meg then back to Sam. "Oh yeah. She looks freaking hilarious."

"Don't worry she can't do jack squat. She's totally screwed."

Dean's eyes widened. "Not helping Sam."

"Look at her." Sam said, motioning to Meg. "She's furious. If she could kill you, she would have done it by now. She's running."

Meg looked back at Sam. "Am I?"

"Judging by the level of flop sweat on all of you, yeah. Which means you're running from Crowley. Which makes sense. Crowley would want to hunt down all the Lucifer loyalists now that he's the big man on campus."

Meg tilted her head to the side. "How would you know?"

"It's what I'd do." Sam looked past Meg back at Dean. "She can't kill us. She needs us to get her to Crowley so she can stick that knife in his neck. It's him or her."

Dean and Natalie both smirk in amusement. "Well, I hope you both lose. But good luck." Dean said.

"So you know what you gotta do now, right?" Sam added.

Meg gave him a forced smile. "Let me guess, you're gonna tell me."

"Work with us." Sam answered.

Natalie blinked a couple of times. "Wait, what?"

"We'll hand you Crowley with a bow. On one condition: we come with you and you help us wring a little something out of him before you hack him to bits."

"Sam you have got to be kidding." Natalie said.

"What is it you are wanting?" Meg inquired.

"Now that doesn't matter. Question is, can you get us what we need?" Sam asked.

Meg thought over Sam's proposal and looked over at Dean. "Dean, can I really make Crowley do whatever I want?"

Dean hesitated, not seeing any other way out of Sam's plan, whatever it was he was thinking. "Yeah, you can." He answered looking up at her.

"It's a deal then. Hugs and puppies all around!" Meg happily called out. She looks back at her group and motions for them to leave.

"You gonna untie us?" Dean was quick to question.

Meg look down at him and smirked. "Don't pretend you don't enjoy it."

One of the demons walked over and stopped next to Dean, his eyes staring down at him.

"You gonna kiss me?" Dean asked.

"Come on." Meg said, allowing them to leave the house.

Dean let out a scoff. "Now what?"

Natalie moved her hand towards her right back pocket, knowing that there was a pocketknife that she always kept there.

Dean looked over at Natalie, seeing that she was making various expressions with her face and not to mention she was moving around a lot. "Nad, what are you doing?"

Natalie bit down on her lip as her hand finally reached the pocket. "I'm trying to get..." As her fingers brushed over the area it was soon discovered that her knife was no longer there. Her expression immediately fell and she hung her head back.

"Damn demons took my knife away." Natalie muttered.

"You mean that one over there." Dean answered motioning his head towards the table at the end of the room.

Natalie narrowed her eyes finally focusing on her pocketknife resting on the table. "Yeah. That's it." Groaning with frustration, Natalie settled herself against her seat.

The three of them sat in silence, wondering when Meg was going to allow them to get untied. Dean tapped his foot and pursed his lips before looking up at Sam and Natalie.

"So." Natalie and Sam looked over at him. Dean shrugged and gave them a smirk. "Who wants to play 20 questions?"

* * *

Sam, Dean and Natalie walked back into the main room. After a very tense twenty minutes, of trying to get over to the table, Natalie was able to scoot herself over to where her knife was. Despite the fact, that she was tied to a chair. If anything, the whole act was uncomfortable on her part, but Dean found it rather amusing. It's surely something that she never wants to hear Dean mention again, but knowing him, that wasn't going to happen.

"What exactly are you doing?" Dean finally asked.

Sam picked up his coat giving Dean a look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what the hell are you going?" Dean asked again.

"Dean, you wanted to screw over Crowley. Well Merry Christmas." Sam commented.

"You wanna work with a demon again?" Dean asked.

"We're working with demons now. I'm doing this because I wanna stop." Sam assured him.

Natalie shook her head. "Sam, in case you forgot. She got Jo and Ellen killed!"

"We can't be looking at this emotionally, Nad. We need her."

"The hell we do!" Dean called out. "That little bitch is gonna screw us over so fast-"

"Of course. Which is why we'll screw her first." Sam added. "Meg and her little posse are dead the second we're done with them."

Dean was less than optimistic and scoffed. "Yeah, if they don't kill us."

"They won't." Sam said. "Because we're bringing insurance."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about? What insurance?"

"Cas." Sam answered.

"Yeah, right." Dean said. "Only if he will answer you. He's so caught up with everything going on in Heaven.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna make sure that he answers." Sam said.

Dean shrugged. "Well, if you manage to get his little feather butt down here I will be surprised."

Natalie resulted to sitting in one of the chairs and looked up, able to glance Sam leaving the room and exiting the house, to try and get Castiel to help them.

"You think Sam's plan is even going to work? I mean working with Meg..." Natalie spoke finally.

"I don't trust Meg. But...Sam seems hell bent on going down this way so, I guess that's what we're going to do." Dean walked over to another chair that was across from Natalie and sat down.

"Well, all I can say is that I hope it works." Natalie said. "Because I am tired of running errand and errand for Crowley. And you're right. It's not getting us anywhere. It's just this never ending circle."

Dean only merely nodded. "I know." Dean watched as Natalie pulled out her phone and was seemingly scrolling through messages. "Is that Clara?"

Natalie nodded silently. "Yeah, uh, she's been keeping me up to date with what's going with...Elais." Natalie hesitated towards the end, not really sure if it would be a good idea to mention it.

Dean nodded. "So, what have they found?"

"Nothing much. Just been trying to find the guy he should be possessing. All they are coming up with are dead ends." Natalie answered finally turning off the phone and placing it in her lap.

"You really think that Crowley will be able to pull Sam's soul out of hell?" Natalie asked, this particular thought had been nagging her in the back of her mind.

"It's the only thing we got. Might as well try and roll with it." Dean answered.

"And...what if he can't?" Natalie hesitantly added.

Dean didn't know how to answer that, because it was something that he had thought about multiple times. It wasn't exactly the one thing he wanted to think about, but he couldn't help it. What were they supposed to do if they couldn't get Sam's soul? At least, what if they couldn't get it from Crowley?

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam and Castiel walked back into the house, causing Dean to turn and look at them. His brows raised in surprise. "Wow, you actually showed. Sam, I owe you a chicken dinner." Dean stood from the chair. "So what changed your mind?"

Castiel seemed hesitant as he looked quickly at Sam. "No big." Sam answered. "This is what friends do for each other."

Castiel slowly nodded. "Yes. It's what friends do."

Natalie could see the tension that was going on between Sam and Castiel, which hinted to her that something probably happened when Sam called for him. Either way, no matter how curious she was about it, she was just glad that Castiel was here now.

Without wasting time, the four of them began to gather the supplies they needed for Castiel to perform a ritual. A ritual that was to tell them where Crowley was hiding. Natalie, Dean and Sam both stood by as Castiel's ritual came to an end though nothing happened.

"It's not working." Castiel finally answered. "Crowley's hidden from me. The spell is useless."

Dean hummed in disapproval. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way. We gotta go and ask Samuel."

Natalie gave Dean a look. "You really think he is going to tell you where Crowley is? After the fact that he lied to both of you."

Dean gave Natalie a shrug. "We don't have any other option."

* * *

Dean, Sam and Castiel had gone over to see Samuel, though Natalie chose to stay behind. She wasn't really in the mood to see Samuel again and also, it gave her a chance to talk with Marina. It was her time to just relax and not have to worry about what was going on. Marina would always try her best, through the phone calls, to lighten up Natalie's mood which would work most of the time.

It wasn't long before Dean, Castiel and Sam returned from their trip to Samuel's and Natalie felt like they had only been gone a few minutes, though it was longer. And it didn't take long for Natalie to notice that Dean was heated. It didn't take a genius to know that this particular plan didn't go accordingly.

Dean released all of the information to Natalie in a kind of quick succession. Not going into to much detail, but telling her what was necessary. Samuel was working with Crowley because he said that he was going to bring back Mary, Dean and Sam's mother. If anything, Natalie was confused by what Dean had told her. Samuel was a hunter. Shouldn't he know that anything dead should stay dead. Samuel should know that nothing good could come out of bringing his daughter back.

Since this didn't work, the four of them decided to try and figure out where Crowley was in their own way. Sam, Natalie and Dean were seated at the table, various papers and maps were sprawled out in front of them, while Castiel was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"It's very complex." Castiel's voice pierced the silence that had filled the room.

"Mm-hmm." Dean responded though the three of them were still engrossed in their search.

"If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear?" Natalie paused her reading and looked up at Castiel. "Perhaps she's done something wrong."

Raising a brow, Natalie looked over at Dean and Sam then mouthed 'Is he watching porn?'.

Dean cleared his throat and looked back over at Castiel. "Are...are you watching porn?"

Castiel gave Dean a quick look that was his way of saying 'yes'.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"It was there."

"You don't watch porn in a room full of people. And you don't...talk about it. Just turn it off Cas." Dean said.

Castiel paused his watching as his head slowly hung and his eyes looked down in his lap.

"Oh great, now he's got a boner." Dean said.

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head, a few of her laughs managed to get out.

A knock at the door halted the moment and Dean slowly stood from the table and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, Samuel walked in and furrowed his brows at what Castiel was watching.

"This what you three do, sit around watching pornos with angels?" Samuel asked.

"We're not supposed to talk about it." Castiel commented, still engrossed on the television. Natalie stood from the chair and walked over to the TV, then turned it off.

"Why are you here, Samuel?" Dean finally asked.

"It's what Mary would want. Now, this is what I know." Samuel turned around and walked over to the table, then pulled out a map. Natalie quickly cleared a space on the table for him. "Whatever we bag ends up there." Samuel said, pointing to a location. "That's were he tortures them, interrogates, I really don't know. Only been outside the places, but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in and nothing gets out, period."

Dean scanned over the map and nodded. "Well, thanks."

Samuel let out a sigh and shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't do this."

"Then come with us." Sam suddenly added.

"I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal." Samuel commented and looked up at the three of them. "Good luck. You're gonna need it.

* * *

Natalie and Dean were in the house, already gathering all of their things so they could make the trip out to visit Crowley. They had already told Meg and her companions that they knew where Crowley and now Natalie just wanted to get this trip done.

"You know, Cas, you could help." Dean said after glancing over at Castiel who was leaning against a table.

"I'm ambivalent about what we're attempting." Castiel said.

"Well, breaking into monster Gitmo is not exactly a two-for-one in the champagne room." Dean replied.

"No. I'm not sure retrieving Sam's soul is wise."

Dean and Natalie both stop and turn to look at him. "Wait, what? Why?" Dean asked.

"I want him to survive."

"Cas, what are you talking about?" Natalie asked.

Castiel turned to both of them. "Sam's soul has been locked in the cage with Michael and Lucifer for more than a year. And they have nothing to do but take their frustrations out on him. You both understand? If we try to force that mutilated thing down Sam's gullet, we have no idea what will happen. It could be catastrophic."

"Wait, so you're saying that he will die." Natalie said.

"No, I'm saying he doesn't." Natalie gave Castiel a confused look. "Paralysis. Insanity. Psychic pain so profound that he's locked inside himself for the rest of his life."

"But you're saying you don't know anything for sure. I mean, he could be fine." Dean said in an attempt to try and ease this tension.

Castiel gave a small nod. "He could be, yes."

Dean shrugged. "Okay then."

"But I sincerely doubt it." Castiel added.

"Well, if he's not fine, then you fix him." Dean demanded.

"Dean, I wouldn't know where to even begin."

"Then you figure it out, Cas. Come on." Dean set down the bag and walked over to him. "I mean, the guy's a damn replicate. He needs his soul." Dean ran his hands down his face. "Look, we get it back. And if there are complications, then we will figure out a way to deal with those, too."

Castiel nodded at Dean's words. "Of course."

Dean turns back around and walks over to Natalie, returning to his packing. "Or we fail, and Sam suffers horrifically."

Natalie let out a heavy breath and bit down on her lip. She looked over at Dean and he could see the doubt written on her face. Castiel knew what he was talking about and it would be stupid if they didn't take his words into consideration.

Seeing the look on her face, Dean knew that she was now hesitant about going through with getting Sam's soul. He answered her look with a few vigorous head shakes. "He's going to be fine. He'll be fine."

* * *

**So how did you all like it?! Don't forget to leave a review! Xx**


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: So I have some news regarding my supernatural stories. Starting NEXT chapter, there will be a small hint to a plotline about Natalie, that will be slowly carried out during the remaining of this story and into the next. Over the past few weeks, I have been coming up with ideas for potential plotlines in the future stories and I have FINALLY decided on a story arch for Natalie. _

_Regarding the whole demon story, yes, that is a storyline for Natalie but I think of it as a plotline something that involves her family. This new plotline will focus solely on Natalie and it will effect her relationship with Dean and especially Sam. I guess you could view it almost like a 'destiny' kind of thing, but not really, more on the lines of 'fate' I guess is the right way (sorry if I confused you). I am so excited to start writing down the hints and the storyline won't come into full effect until the next story (season 7). That was just a little thing that I wanted to share with you all! _

_Also on a related note, I would love your inputs on something. If you all would please go to my profile and vote on the poll I have posted there It would mean the world to me. So please, please go and check it out!_

_Let's get on with the story!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"It all seems a little to easy. What do you two think?" Dean's voice pierced through the silent hallway.

Natalie gave a small curt nod. "Yeah."

"It was a little to easy." Sam commented.

With Castiel, Meg and the others following them, they continued on down through the dingy hallway. Passing by what looked like cells rooms, out of the corner of their eyes, they could see various creatures. Prisoners that were now under Crowley's eye.

After wandering confusingly through the cell hall, the group found themselves entering what looked like a 'normal' hallway. It took on the appearance of a hospital wing of sorts. Regardless of what the hallway looked like, they felt like they were on the right path.

"Wait." Castiel suddenly spoke up.

Dean, Natalie and Sam paused, turning to look at him. "What is it, Cas?" Dean asked.

In the distance, Natalie thought she heard what sounded like a howl. As she focused her hearing on the noise, it started to become more clear. "Dean."

Dean looked over at Natalie, seeing the tense and pensive look on her face, but soon he caught onto the howls as well, though this time, they were getting closer. "Hellhounds. Go! Run!"

They all turned and quickly ran down the hallway, hearing the growls getting closer, they sped up their paces. Turning the hall corner, they spotted a set of doors and quickly made their way past them.

Even though two of the demons were still trying to make their way past the doors, Sam, Dean and Natalie slammed the door shut, and leaned their bodies against it, trying to keep the hellhounds from getting through. Natalie cringed at the screams and growls she heard from the other side of the doors.

"I knew this was a trap." Dean said, making sure to keep an even force against the door.

Meg gave Dean a snarky look. "Oh, what do you want, a cupcake?"

Natalie groaned as the door gave way a little, causing her to turn and press her side against it. "Now is really not the time for..." Natalie paused as the door almost gave way again. "No time for sarcasm!"

Sam pushed himself away from the door and quickly searched the area for something that they could wedge the door with. Spotting a piece of wood, he picked it up and made his way over to the door, motioning for Natalie to move away from the handles. After doing so, Sam slid the piece of wood through the handles as Dean poured out a salt line at the base of the door.

Stepping back from the door, Sam turned to the rest of them. "That should keep them out."

"For now." Natalie stepped away from the door, her eyes never leaving it.

"How many of them are there?" Dean turned to look at Meg.

"Lots. I'll be pulling for you...from Cleveland." Meg responded.

"Wait, what?"

"I didn't know this was gonna happen. Bright side: them chewing up my meat suit ought to buy you a few seconds."

Natalie turned to look at Meg, her glare hardening. "You're not gonna..."

"Seacrest out." Meg opens her mouth, trying to vacate her body, though she is unable to escape. Meg closes her mouth and her expression turned to confusion.

"A spell, I think, from Crowley. Within these walls you're locked inside your body." Castiel added.

Natalie gave Meg a small smirk. "Ain't that just a real bitch."

"Okay, new plan." Sam pulled out Ruby's knife from his bag.

Dean gave Sam a bewildered look. "What are you doing? You gonna slash at thin air until you hit something?"

"You can see them." Sam said, looking at Meg, ignoring Dean's question. "Take this. Hold them off. It's our best shot."

Meg eyed the knife for a small moment. "At Crowley. Take it and kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

Dean shifted his attention to Meg now. "How are you gonna do that?"

Meg gave a small smile as she turned to Castiel. Her hand wrapped around his neck allowing her to pull him closer to her, their lips locking together.

Natalie, Sam and Dean both tilted their heads slightly at the scene and as Castiel pushed Meg up against the wall, kissing her again, Natalie's eyes widened, pursing her lips she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What was that?" Meg asked once Castiel pulled away.

"I learned that from the pizza man."

Natalie felt her expression lighten as she tried to force the smile away that had slowly appeared due to Castiel's words.

"Well, A plus for you. I feel so...clean." Meg twirled the angel blade around in her hand. "Okay, you three gotta go."

"Is that even gonna work on a hellhound?" Dean motioned at the blade.

"Well, we're about to find out." The doors began to shake as the hellhounds tried to burst their way through. "Run!"

The four of them gave one last look at the door before quickly running down the hallway. Dean spotted a set of doors at the end of the hallway and sped up his pace in order to get it open for everyone to get through. Once everyone was through, Dean quickly shut the door and pushed the lock in place, which took a little bit of effort since it had been rusted to a good amount.

The four of them were faced with a very, very, dimly lit staircase that would lead them down to god only knows where. Natalie let out a shaky sigh. "Doesn't that look welcoming."

"Yeah. Let's just settle on in here." Dean replied sarcastically, walking past Natalie to go down the stairs, he received a small nudge from her.

Their inference was that the hallway was barely lit at all, as they continued on down the staircase it didn't get any better. In fact, all four of them thought that the visibility had gotten worse. How they had managed to get down the stairs with just the use of the light from their cell phones, which wasn't much, surprised them.

"God you can't see jack in this place." Dean said as they finally reached the end of the stairs.

Out of nowhere a blinding light appeared, causing Natalie, Dean and Sam to cover their eyes at the intensity of it. As quick as it came, the light suddenly vanished, and the three hunters looked around their surroundings.

"Where's Cas?" Natalie asked, no longer seeing the angel.

Sam looked around once more when his eyes landed on Samuel and Crowley. "Dean."

Dean and Natalie both looked over, spotting Samuel and Crowley, and Dean's eyes went hard. "You sold us out?"

"Yes. And I have to say, best purchase I've made since Dick Cheney." Crowley answered.

Natalie felt a pair of hands grab onto her arms and looking over at Dean and Sam, she saw the exact same thing.

"Hiya, Crowley. So how's tricks?" Dean asked.

"Way above your pay grade. Been working. Big things. Alas, you'll be too dead to participate. It's a shame really, have to do away with you three. Rather enjoyed your indentured servitude."

Natalie shook her eye, focusing her attention back over to Samuel. "So much for doing what your daughter would have wanted." Samuel slowly turned his attention to Natalie. "Selling out your own family."

"Don't even pretend like you understand. You aren't even a part of this. You're not even family to them." Samuel retorted.

"I'm more of a family to them then you will _ever _be." Natalie bit back as the demons began to escort her and the boys to their cells.

* * *

Natalie walked into the cell, not looking back as the door was slammed shut. Scanning the dump of a room, it really did live up to that. The walls were dirtied with grim and what looked like leftover dried blood. Her gaze shifted to the ground and all over the floor was some kind of substance that she had no idea what it was.

"Sam? Nad?" Dean's voice came through. "I'm standing in pee."

Natalie furrowed her brows slightly as she looked back down at the mess around her, trying to figure out what it was but gave up quickly. Figuring that she actually didn't want to know what she was sharing this cell with.

"Consider yourself lucky." Sam replied.

Cringing in disgust, Natalie stood near the wall where the vile mess wasn't occupying. "I don't even know what I'm standing in. You both are probably lucky."

"Yikes. That sucks." Dean responded.

Natalie let out a huff. "Thanks for your concern Dean."

"You want forgiveness, find a priest."

Natalie's head perked up at the sound of Dean's voice. Obviously he wasn't talking to her or Sam, so it must have been...

"I just want you to understand." The voice confirmed to her that it was Samuel.

"Oh, I understand...that you're a liar. You talk about putting blood first, which is funny because you sound just like my dad. The difference is, he actually did."

"I am putting blood first."

Natalie let out a scoff, loud enough that Samuel could hear it, though she couldn't see that he actually did.

"Oh, give me a break!" Dean called back, not wanting to hear Samuel's excuses.

"Mary is my blood! My daughter. Don't come at me like I sold you out, Dean. You sold out your own mother. It was her or Sam, and you chose Sam, plain and simple."

"Oh that is such crap!" Dean fumed, pointing a figure at Samuel. "You wanna know what really happened? You chose a demon over your own grandsons!"

"See it how you want to." Samuel tiredly relented. "I don't even know what Sam is. And you want me to protect him? And you? You're a stranger. I mean really, tell me. What are you supposed to be to me?"

"I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy you never wanna see again. Because I'll make it out of here, trust me. And next time you see me, I'll be there to kill you."

"Don't think there's gonna be a next time."

Dean gave Samuel a grim smirk and then a small shrug. "Whatever gets you through the night."

Hearing what sounded like a latch closing, Natalie let out a long sigh, running a hand down her face. "What are we going to do?" Natalie finally asked.

She could hear Dean give a heavy sigh, telling her that he was contemplating a plan. "I'm trying to think of something."

Natalie rested her cheek against her hand. "I'm not gonna rush you. I don't even have a plan myself."

The next few minutes were spent with each of them pacing around in their cells. Trying to come up with a plan, though what could they do from inside a cell? Not much, actually, nothing.

The sound of keys jingling and the door unlocking caught all of their attentions. Each of them thinking it was their door that was being opened. unfortunately, it was Dean's cell that was being gained access to.

Natalie listened as Dean was dragged out of his cell, fighting against them the whole time, though she knew that he wasn't going to get out of it. The cell door closed with a low resonating thud, leaving Natalie and Sam in silence, as Dean's voice retreated into nothing.

"Sam?" Natalie's voiced echoed throughout the room.

"Yeah."

"Okay, now I'm gonna be rushing you. Got a plan yet?"

Natalie was only met with an unsatisfied silence which she pouted at. "Yeah. Hold on." Sam said, allowing her mood to lighten slightly.

While Sam was carrying out his plan, whatever it was, Natalie leaned her back against the wall, praying that Sam's plan will take effect really soon. The longer she stood in this cell, looking at what she was practically standing in, was making her unbelievably sick.

Natalie soon could hear the door to Sam's cell being opened and she stood away from the wall upon hearing Sam and the demons talking. Whatever Sam was planning on doing, it seemed like that was thrown out the window.

Footsteps were soon approaching her door and Natalie stood away from it, thinking that it was one of the demons coming to take her to wherever Dean is. The door opened only to reveal Sam, who was motioning her to come out.

Natalie approached him and walked out. "How the hell did you get out?"

"I told you I had a plan." He answered as they began to walk away from her cell.

"But, how did you do it? What was your plan?" Natalie asked. As they walked past his room, she looked in and saw the two demons were stuck under a devils trap on the ceiling make out of...blood.

Turning to look at Sam, she gave him a look. "How did you manage to get the blood?"

Sam walked over to a table where Ruby's knife was resting on and looked back over at Natalie. "I have my ways. Now let's go."

Natalie casted Sam a skeptical look, still wanting to know how he got the blood, but regardless, they had to find Dean and she didn't want to waste any more time.

They both took off running out of the hallway and turned the corner that greeted them quickly. Not surprisingly, they had no idea where Dean was and this corridor they were in, was full of closed and open doors. He could have been in any of them or he might be in an entirely different part of the building.

"Dean!" Natalie called out as she and Sam began to pace themselves down the hallway, peering into every room that they could.

"Dean!" Sam called out.

_"Let me go, you son of a bitch!" _

Natalie and Sam paused in their search once they heard Dean's voice, then they both began to sprint towards the source of where they had heard him. As they approached where they had heard him, they were greeted by a set of open doors. Stopping at the entrance, they saw Dean being attacked by what looked like a ghoul.

Sam quickly ripped a pipe from the wall and went after the one that was attacking Dean. Natalie noticed the other trying to make a go for Sam and she quickly jumped onto its back, her arms wrapping around its neck.

The ghoul thrashed around, trying to rid of Natalie's hold on her, which almost happened a few times. Her hold on the creature wasn't exactly the strongest and it was going to work against her soon. The ghoul ran backwards, ramming Natalie into the wall and she cursed at the pain in her back. Natalie tightened her hold around the ghoul and reached her other arm out and grabbed a loose pipe from the wall.

When the ghoul moved away from the wall, Natalie released her grip on him and when he turned to face her and she swung the pipe, hitting it on the side of the head. The creature fell to the ground, groaning in pain was the impact. Natalie brought the pipe up one last time and embedded it into the ghoul's skull, creating a sickening crack that resonated in the silence that now surrounded her.

Looking up, she could see the ghoul that Sam had taken care of was now lying in a mess at his feet and Dean was fine. Well, other than being almost killed by ghouls, physically, he was fine.

"What now?" Natalie asked.

"We find Crowley." Dean said, pushing past both Sam and Natalie, leaving the room with both of them following.

* * *

Dean walks over to the alarm and pulled it down. Sam and Natalie were already in their places for their plan. Get Crowley's attention and then question him before Meg had her way with him.

Facing the entrance to the room, Dean waited patiently and just like as planned, Crowley came strolling through the doorway. The look on Crowley's face assured Dean that this wasn't what he expected to find.

"You should be ghoul scat by now." Crowley inquired. Sam quietly walked up behind Crowley and hits him from behind, causing him to fall right into their devils trap. "Really necessary?" Crowley asked. "I just had this dry-cleaned." Looking around him, he finally realized that he was in a trap. "So, to what do I owe the reach-around?"

Dean, Natalie and Sam stand in front of Crowley giving him hardened looks when Meg came walking into the room.

"Crowley." Meg smirked with glee at the sight of Crowley.

"Whore."

Meg's face fell slightly. "Okay, you know what." She closed her hand into a fist, causing Crowley to start coughing up blood. "The best torturers never get their hands dirty." She releases her grip, ceasing his coughing fit. "Sam wants a word with you."

Sucking in a few breaths, Crowley looked up at him. "What can I do for you, Sam?"

"You know damn well. I want me soul back."

Meg gave Sam a truly surprised look. "And here I thought you just grew some balls, Sam."

Sam gave Meg a side glance then returned his focus on Crowley. "Well?"

"No."

Dean nodded at Crowley's words. "Meg?"

Meg closed her fist again, causing Crowley to groan in pain. "I can't." Crowley finally admitted.

"You can't or you won't?" Sam questioned.

"When I said I can't, I meant it you mop-headed lumberjack. I was lucky enough to get this much of you out. Going back in there for the sloppy bits? No way. I'm good, but those two in there? Forget it."

Sam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But it doesn't change anything. I'm telling you. Sam, who do you want the thing back? Satan's got one juicy source of entertainment in there. I'd swallow a rag off a bathhouse floor before I took that soul. Unless you want to be a drooling mess."

"Sam, I hate to say it, but he's right." Meg said, offering her own opinion.

"Yeah, right. I get it. Thanks. He's all yours." Sam said before turning to leave.

"Whoah, wait are you crazy? He's our only hope." Dean spoke up.

"Dean, you heard him. He can't get it. He's useless."

"He could just be saying that to get himself out of it." Natalie said. "That way he wouldn't have to do us this favor."

"I'm not lying to you." Crowley spoke up, causing Natalie to look at him. "Trust me, getting just him, as he is right now, that was no walk in the park. Going back there is just insane."

"Well, all I am saying is you did it once, surely you can do it again." Natalie said, walking closer to him. "But, you said that if we did your damn errands you would get Sam's soul back. You need to hold up your side of the bargain Crowley."

"And I'm telling you. No." Crowley finished, staring at Natalie.

Natalie turned to Dean and motioned her head to Meg, telling him to giver her Ruby's knife. "Go ahead. Sam's right. He's useless now."

Meg took the knife from Dean. "You'll let me back out, right?" She was answered with a nod from them. Turing back to him, Meg casually walked towards the trap. "This is for Lucifer, you pompous little-"

Crowley knocks Meg to the ground and quickly picks up her knife, creating a break in the devils trap. Before they could do anything, Crowley pinned them up against the walls, then let out a relieved sigh.

"That's better. You all have seriously gone off your game. All to just get a mangled soul out from hell." Crowley walked halfway towards the hunters. "It's not worth it I can tell you that."

"Leave them alone." Castiel's voice appeared, catching them all in a surprised state.

Crowley looked at the angel, releasing his hold on the hunters allowing them to drop to the ground. "Castiel, haven't seen you all season. You the cavalry now?"

"Put the knife down." Castiel commanded.

"You that bossy in Heaven? Hear you're losing out to Raphael. The whole affair makes Vietnam look like a roller derby." Crowley's attention was soon focused on a brown sack that Castiel was carrying. "What's in the gift bag?"

Castiel opened up the sack and pulled out a skull. "You are."

Crowley gawked at the skull in Castiel's hand and shook his head. "That's not possible."

"You didn't hide your bones as well as you should have." Castiel mocked as he scanned over the skull.

Crowley decides to hide his small scene of panic by clapping. "Cookies all around for you."

"Can you restore Sam's soul or not?" Castiel asked.

"If I could help out in any other-"

"Just answer him!" Dean interrupted.

"I can't." Crowley said.

Castiel immediately turned to the brown bag, now resting on the ground, and raised his hand over it. It suddenly caught fire as did Crowley. Natalie's eyes fixed on Crowley's burning body that soon turned to nothing but a charred corpse that slumped to the ground.

* * *

Natalie leaned against the Impala, her head hung back, she was so happy to be out of that place. Stepping outside, breathing in what she felt like clean air and none of that stench she experienced in her cell.

"Thanks, Cas. Hadn't been for you we would most likely be nothing but a mess in that place." Dean said, causing Natalie to lean her head up and look at them.

"Crowley was right, though. It's not going well for me upstairs."

Natalie turned to them, her arm leaning on top of the Impala. "Is there anything we can do Cas? Any way we can help."

Castiel gave Natalie a small smile for her concern, but shook his head. "There isn't. I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time I'd rather be here."

"Look, Cas, we know you got a steaming pile on your plate. You don't need to apologize. We're you're friends." Dean added.

Castiel nodded in gratitude and then looked over at Sam. "Listen, Sam, we'll find another way to get your soul back."

"You really wanna help?" Sam interrupted. "Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave them and we can't let them go."

Castiel nodded at Sam's words. "I understand." With that, he disappeared.

"He's right, you know?" Dean tried to carry on the conversation.

"About what?"

"About your soul. We'll figure something else out."

"No, we won't."

Natalie and Dean both stared at Sam, confused by why he would say this. "Why, because Crowley said-"

"You heard what Crowley said. I heard what Cas said. Putting this thing back in would smash me to bits."

"No, we don't know that for sure Sam." Dean tried to assure him.

"You know what? When angels and demons agree on something, call me nuts, I pay attention."

"You're saying this now? After we practically died trying to-"

"Exactly, Dean!" Sam called out. "We almost got ourselves killed. I mean, how many times do we risk our asses for this? Enough's enough."

"Sam, we are risking our asses so we can help you!" Natalie was the next to speak. "That's what all of this is about. It's all about helping you and getting your soul back."

"Nad, you even heard what Cas said last night. Getting it back can destroy me."

Natalie pursed her lips. "Like Dean said, we don't know what will happen."

"Exactly, I don't want to risk my life experimenting with my hell infected soul. I don't think I want it back."

Natalie gave Sam a confused stare and able to process what he said. "What?"

"You don't even know what you're saying." Dean commented.

"No, I'm saying something you both don't like. You obviously care, a lot. But maybe I'm better off without it."

Natalie began to shake her head vehemently. "No, Sam. You need your soul."

"No. Nad. I'm not to sure about that." Sam gave Dean and Natalie a look before turning around and walking away.

"Sam!" Dean called out, trying to get him to come back. "Sam! Don't walk away. Sam!"

* * *

**Okay so how did you all like it?! So next chapter is when Sam gets his soul back but I am not sure whether I am going to make it into one long chapter or split it. Either way, Sam is getting his soul. And Natalie is going to be playing a big part in getting it back *wink, wink* I will try and get that chapter up this weekend but can't make any promises.**

**Anyways, don't forget to check out the poll on my profile! Until next time! Xx**


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Had to split this up into two parts! This one is a little different take on Appointment with Samarra. Which means Natalie is going to be playing a big part in getting Sam's soul back. There is going to be some back and forth in the beginning of this chapter, so I hope not to make it to confusing for you all._

_I dedicate this chapter and the next one to __**Ladysunshine6**_, _who was the one who pitched the idea for this chapter to me. Thank you!_

_Also as a reminder, if you haven't voted in the poll on my profile please do so. Let's get on with the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"You sure this is the right place?" Jake asked, his eyes scanning the building skeptically.

Natalie pursed her lips, also feeling a little bit doubtful that this was the right address. But, gazing down at the paper she nodded silently. "Yeah, this is the right address. It's what I have down." She said, holding it up for him to see.

Jake gazed at the piece of paper and then sighed. "Looks a little...rough to me. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Natalie stared blankly at the building, Jake's words buzzing around her head. The whole series of events that took place before she arrived here was complicated enough. Bobby, Dean and Natalie had found out about Dr. Robert and what he was able to do. Dean at first, was willing to let himself to go with this experiment, but when Bobby expressed his doubts about it, Natalie went ahead and volunteered herself. That, of course, caused Bobby and Dean to shoot her down immediately. So she took matters into her own hands.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Listen." She said turning to Jake. "Thanks for driving me here. It was a good thing you were close to Bobby's."

Jake let out a snort. "You don't have to thank me Nad. I will tell you one thing...Dean isn't gonna be happy about this. He doesn't know you're here, does he?"

Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. She made sure not to tell Dean about where she was going, but, knowing him, she knew that Dean was going to find out where she is. That's why she wanted to get this done quickly.

"That's why I wanna get in and then out." Natalie commented, unbuckling her seat belt she reached down in her bag, making sure that the money was still there.

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" Jake asked.

Natalie picked up her bag and slid one of the handles over her arm. "No. I'm pretty sure by the time I get done he'll know where I am. Thanks anyways Jake."

Jake nodded and Natalie took it as a sign to get out of the car. She waved at Jake, who then slowly drove off.

Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Natalie slowly approached the building, seeing that it was just a common grocers market and she gave a small cringe. "This ought to be interesting."

Sucking a breath, she walked forward and pushed open the door. The place was empty, except for a few people who were working behind the counter. Turning to the man, who was looking at her, she gave him a hesitant smile.

"Hi, uh. I'm looking for Dr. Robert."

The man pointed down towards the back of the building. "Follow all the way to the back."

Natalie looked to where he was talking about and then pointed down the same way herself only to receive a nod from him. "Thank you."

Taking off towards the back of the room, Natalie first walked through a fairly worn down door and was greeted by a staircase. Eyeing carefully first, Natalie slowly began to ascend the stairs and soon found herself standing in the middle of an apartment hallway. Pulling out the piece of paper Natalie followed down the corridor and turned a corner, walking all the way down to a door where Natalie knew was the right place.

Raising her hand, she gently knocked on the wood and didn't have to wait long before the door opened, revealing a much older man. "You must be Natalie Collins?"

Natalie gave him a smile. "And you must be Dr. Robert. I'm guessing my Aunt called you."

"She gave me a heads up. But, sweetie I knew your father for many years."

"That's good to know." Natalie replied genuinely.

"Well, then." Dr. Robert stepped away from the door allowing a path for Natalie to enter. "Come on in and we can get this on the road."

Natalie nodded and walked past Dr. Robert into the apartment complex. "By the way, this place is really...nice."

"The rent was cheap." Dr. Robert responded, closing the door behind him.

A young woman was standing next to a few medical tables, setting everything up and didn't really pay any attention to Natalie.

"Natalie, this is my assistant Eva." Dr. Robert introduced the woman for her. Natalie gave Eva a small nod, only to be answered by a small look from her.

Dr. Robert made his way over to the medical table and patted the firm matting."Okay, well, hop right on up and we'll get started."

Natalie huffed out a breath, remembering that she had something to give to him. "Before we get started..." She slid off her bag and pulled out the envelope that contained the money she had gotten from her own personal savings and handed it to Dr. Robert. "Just wanted to make sure you had that. Also, um...if anything goes wrong...well then just..."

"Call your Aunt?" Dr. Robert answered for her.

"Yeah. She'll tell everyone who needs to know." Natalie replied and then nodded to herself, giving herself right amount of boost she needed to walk over to the table.

Taking off her jacket, she tossed it over to an empty chair then hopped up on the table and scooted back enough for her to lay down. "Now, you've done this many times before, right?" She asked nervously.

"Oh yes, many times." Dr. Robert answered, readying the IV.

Natalie nodded anxiously. "And...how many of those times were successful?"

"Oh, actually very well. Almost 75%." Natalie gave him a somewhat satisfied smile. "So, should we get started now."

Natalie nodded and slowly lowered herself onto her back, though her eyes were fixed on the IV needle that he was getting ready to put into her arm. Out of all the things she was wary about, needles set her nerves on end like nothing else.

Dr. Robert brought the needle over to her arm, once he found an accessible vein the needle just began to prick her skin when the door to the apartment suddenly swung open. Natalie immediately shot up and looked over, seeing Dean and there was a mix of anger and relief that washed over him.

"Nad, what the hell are you doing?!" Dean asked, striding into the room.

Natalie's mouth fell agape and she swung her legs over to the side of the table and hopped off. "How the hell did you find me?"

"What do you think?" Dean asked, his tone almost taking on a mocking sense.

"You followed me, didn't you?" Natalie said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Of course I did. You disappeared, neither Bobby or I knew about it and I knew there was only one place you would go. Here." Dean looked up at Dr. Robert and then to Eva. "How did you even get here?" He asked genuinely curious.

Natalie gave him a shrug. "I called Jake. He was close to Bobby's and he drove me here."

"Yeah, well, you just made a trip for nothing because you are not doing this."

"Dean. Don't give me that crap. I'm here and there is no use in me leaving. This was a plan you, Bobby and I had figured out..."

"Yeah, but that plan didn't have anything to do with you doing this." Dean was quick to point out.

Natalie let out a frustrated sigh. "God, I am not made of glass Dean! You and Bobby treat me like I'm so vulnerable when I really am not. I can take care of myself and I can handle something like this."

"How would you know? You've never done something like this." Dean corrected her.

"Yeah, well, neither have you...and you were the one who was thinking about letting yourself go on with this plan." Natalie reminded him.

"Yeah, because I was willing to subject myself to this."

"Well so am I!" Natalie huffed out, but quickly made sure to quiet herself. "Dean, you carry all of this on your shoulders, never letting anyone help. Just let me do this. Let me take on the burden just this once."

Dean remained silent, all of the anger he had at the beginning had slowly diminished, and now, Natalie had no idea what he was thinking. Which in a sense, really irked her. She had no way of knowing if he was going to let her go through with it or not. Looking past Natalie, he could see the doctor and Eva giving them curious looks and he sighed heavily.

"Nad. If anything were to happen during this...if anything went wrong...I can't let that happen. So I'm gonna do it." Dean finished, receiving a wide-eyed look from Natalie.

"Wait, what?"

"Yep." He answered and began to take off his jacket. "I'll be able to handle it. But, if something did happen to you...that would be on me." He finished and tossed his jacket in the same chair where she had discarded hers.

"Dean, please just let me-"

"That's final, Nad." Dean warned, leaving no real room for her to argue her side.

Natalie bit down on her lip as Dean walked past her and she closed her eyes at the thought of what she was about to do. "Sorry, Dean." She turned around and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to turn to her. As he did, Natalie brought her fist up and punched him across the face, luckily it was hard enough to send him falling to the ground.

Natalie silently hissed as she massaged her wrist that was currently pulsating from the hit. "Dammit." She silently seethed to herself. Looking back up at Dr. Robert and Eva she gave them a hesitant smile. "Sorry about all of this." She said motioning down at an unconscious Dean.

"You think maybe...you could help me move him to a chair?" Natalie asked as she bent down next to him, taking hold of his arm.

Dr. Robert walked over, bending down next to Dean, he took hold of his other arm and they both hoisted him up on his feet. Then, quite lazily, they dragged him over to one of the spare chairs and plopped him down on the cushion.

Natalie looked down at Dean, feeling incredibly guilty for what she had done. Dean just didn't want anything to happen to her, but she was tired of Dean doing all of the work. She wanted to help him and this was a way for her to do so.

Natalie quickly walked over to the table, hopped back up and laid back down. "All right. Let's get this going."

Dr. Robert gave her a small skeptical look, but prepared the needle once again regardless. "All right." He quickly but carefully, inserted the needle into the vein and allowed the IV to start its work.

Natalie stared up at the ceiling, feeling her eyes slowly to grow heavy with drowsiness. Her entire body soon began to relax, every muscle releasing any tension she had built up.

"You have three minutes."

The last words from Dr. Robert were buzzing around in her head as she finally closed her eyes and flat lined.

* * *

Natalie looked down at her body on the table and furrowed her brows. "Wow, this is really, really weird." Natalie looked up and took in a breath. "All right...three minutes."

Natalie walked over to the door and reached for the handle only to have her hand go through it. It took her a second to remember that she was dead. Then a small smirk appeared. "This ought to be interesting." She said to herself as she slowly walked through the door and her smirk grew into a full on smile as she found herself standing in the hallway.

Walking back out into the store, Natalie saw the people were still behind the counter and oh right, they couldn't see her because she was dead. _Gotta start remembering that. _"Okay, let's hope that this works."

Natalie pulled out a small piece of paper with an incantation written on it and sucked in a breath. _"Messorum evoco qui me tetigit." _

"What the hell?"

Natalie looked up to see a young woman standing in front of her, confused as to why she was here. "Wow, it actually worked."

The woman spotted Natalie and pointed at her. "Did you just summon me?"

Natalie, who was staring at the woman, mouth agape, slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. That was me."

"Why the hell would you do that? I was in Sudan!" The woman began to scold her.

Natalie raised her hands up in defense. "Okay, before you go all rage on me, I need a favor-wait, what's your name? I mean if you have one."

"My name is Tessa."

"Okay, Tessa...listen, I'm sorry that I pulled you out of Sudan but, I need a favor from you." Natalie began to speak, though she paused when she saw Tessa roll her eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me...wait, are you dead?"

Natalie nodded and Tessa let out a laugh. "Really? You died so that you could ask me something?"

"Well, I mainly died because I need to talk with Death."

Tessa's expression fell and she tilted her head to the side. "You need to talk with Death? Why?"

Natalie pursed her lips. "Because only he can help me."

Tessa continued to stare at Natalie, though her expression turned to curiosity. "What makes you think that he would talk with you?"

"Because he has met me before and plus...well, I don't know if you would consider it a plus...I'm a friend of Dean Winchester."

Tessa's relaxed but it was replaced with annoyance. "That actually explains a lot."

"Yeah." Natalie creased her brow briefly. "But, anyway, I need you to get Death here."

"There is no way I'm doing that."

Natalie took a step closer to Tessa. "Why not?"

"Because I can't. It's simple as that."

"Please, Tessa. He is the _only _person who can help me out with this favor. He would not only be doing this for me but for Dean."

"I can't call Death. That's not how all of this works." Tessa explained.

"You have to be able to make some sort of exception."

"No! I can't!"

"That's fine Tessa. That will be all." Death said, suddenly appearing over at the counter. He slowly looked over at Natalie, causing her to shiver. "Hello, Natalie."

Natalie swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to conjure up her voice. "Hello...Death."

"Enough of pleasantries. I am very busy. What do you want?"

Natalie went to walk towards him, but hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Lucifer's Cage."

Death nodded slowly. "What about it?"

"You can gain entry to it. Without any kind of trouble."

"And what makes you think that?"

Natalie paused, thinking on her next words. "Because you're Death." The look on his face was her queue to continue. "I need you to get Sam's soul out of that cage."

"Yes, I heard that his soul was still trapped in that box." Death quipped.

"And there is someone else you need to get out. Their brother Adam. Michael used him as the vessel and brought him down there as well."

Death gave Natalie a blank look and though she couldn't read him, he was debating through his mind as to how much of this deal he was willing to go through with.

"One."

Natalie gave him a confused look. "What?"

"You need to pick one of them for me to bring back. Not two."

"But-but that's...that's not fair."

"You're lucky that I am even considering bringing one of them back." Death interrupted, quickly shooting down Natalie's argument. "Sam's soul or Adam."

Natalie remained quiet, sorting out this dilemma that never even crossed her mind as she was driving up here. Yes, she wanted to get Sam's soul out of the cage, but she couldn't just leave Adam down there to rot, regardless if she knew him well or not. But, their main goal all this time was to get Sam's soul back right? So this decision should be an easy one...right?"

"What's it going to be Natalie?" Death's question cut through her thoughts.

Natalie closed her eyes and took in a breath. _Sorry Adam. _"Sam. I want you to bring Sam's soul back. But, uh, he's been down there for a year and I know that his soul isn't in the...best shape."

"Best shape? More like it has been flayed, right down to his nerve."

Natalie cringed faintly at the thought. "Is there anything you could do to...take that part away? Get rid of all of his memories of hell?"

* * *

Dean slowly felt himself waking up, all the noise that was stirring in the room were muffled, but he could hear slightly panicked voices. His eyes opened and the vision of two, blurred, figures was the first thing he saw and as his vision cleared, he could see the outline of Natalie lying on the table and everything came back to him.

_She knocked me out._

Rolling onto his side, his arm hung over the side of the chair, allowing himself some time for his vision to adjust. Just as his eyes began to focus, he could see Dr. Robert performing manual CPR on Natalie and Dean could feel his entire body go numb.

_She really went through with it._

As quick as he could, Dean grunted and pushed himself back up to his feet thought to himself as he quickly pushed himself up from the chair. Once he got the feeling back in his legs, Dean rushed over to Natalie's side, garnering Dr. Robert's attention.

Dr. Robert gave Dean a quick look as he finished up giving Natalie manual CPR realizing that it wasn't working."Glad to see you awake son." He said briefly.

Dean stumbled over to Natalie's side, hearing the flat line and seeing her lying so still, it honestly was causing him to panic. "How long as she been gone?"

"Longer than we need her to be. We need to get her back, but, regular CPR isn't working."

Dean shook his head, ridding of the dizziness he was still feeling and rested his hands on top of Natalie's chest. "Let me try."

"Dean. I already tried, it's not gonna work." Dr. Robert said, hoping to get Dean to not perform the action since he had other options.

Dean shook his head as he began to pushed down in singular hard pulses against her chest. "You didn't let me have a go at it." Dean grunted out as he continued the singular pulses, making sure to keep an even pattern. "Come on, Nad."

* * *

Death gave Natalie an incredulous look and began to slowly shake his head. "Natalie. What do you even think a soul is? Some pie that you can slice? Souls cane be tortured, bludgeoned, but never broken. Not even by me."

Natalie sighed in defeat. "Please...there has to be something that you can do."

"Why are you so loyal to them? Why risk your life to do all of this?"

Natalie gave Death a somewhat blank look. "Because I know if the roles were reversed, and my soul was in the cage, Sam and Dean would do whatever they could to get it back. I'm doing this for Sam. He's this ticking bomb that is set to go off and I just...want to fix him before something...really, really bad happens."

Death's eyes narrowed slightly at Natalie, not in a condescending way, but more of like he was...evaluating her. For what, Natalie couldn't even begin to imagine. "You know, ever since I met you a year ago, there was something about you that...intrigued me."

Natalie shifted her feet, uncomfortably, and gave him a shrug. "I'm not all that intriguing."

"No." Death was quick to add. "It's something about _you. _Something that I quite can't put my finger on."

Natalie felt her brows crease heavily and she took a small step towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Something is coming your way Natalie. Something...drastic. It would do you well to keep an eye out." Death finished with a blank stare that made Natalie feel immensely uneasy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, feeling a little threatened by his words.

Death broke his gaze on her and stood up from his chair. "I'll tell you what. I can't erase Sam's hell, but I can put it behind a wall, if you will." He explained, drastically changing the subject.

Natalie, who was a little taken back from the sudden change, shook her head and nodded. "Okay. A wall. So basically like a blockade kind of?"

"If that's what you want to call it. In his mind, it will act like a dam to hold back the tide. Keep out those nasty memories. Trust me, you don't want to know what they could do to him."

"Okay, okay a-a wall. That sounds like a good plan to me." Natalie quickly agreed.

"But, it's not going to be a permanent wall." Tessa suddenly chimed in.

"She's right. Nothing lasts forever." Death said, confirming Tessa's statement.

"Okay. Well, Sam with a built-in dam in his mind is better than Sam with no soul. Okay. Do it."

"I never said that I would do it."

Natalie gave him a look and raised her arms in a questioning gesture. "Then what the hell have we been doing this whole time?"

"It's your prize. If you win the wager." Death answered.

* * *

Dean continued pushing down at Natalie's chest, his eyes flicking over to the monitor, though it only showed that she was still flat-lining. "Come on, Nad!" He called out, giving a few last pulsing pushes.

Dr. Robert turned to another machine and picked up two paddles. "Dean, move out of the way!" Dean looked over at Dr. Robert and his eyes widened at the paddles that he placed on Natalie's body. _ If this won't work, then what the hell will? _

"It's fully charged." Eva said.

"Okay, Three. Two. One." Natalie's body jolted up at the bolt of electricity that pulsed through her body. Dean looked over at the monitor, still seeing no change.

"Charge it up, this time to 300." Dr. Robert said and waited for Eva's queue to countdown. "Three. Two. One."

Natalie's body once again jolted as her body was surged with the electrical charge, but once again, there was no progress. Dean watched as Dr. Robert continued to amp up the charge and then the sight of Natalie's lifeless body reacting to it with no change, he could feel this sense of dread come over him. If she actually didn't make it, then it was definitely all on him this time. He was there with Natalie, he wasn't paying attention and that allowed her to knock him out. All of this was his fault.

"Come on Nad." Dean silently said to himself. "You better come back."

As the last round of charge sped through Natalie's body and once again there was no progress, Dr. Robert turned to Eva. "Get the adrenaline."

* * *

"What's the bet?" Natalie asked timidly.

"You still have my ring?" Natalie gave him a quick nod. "When you find the ring. Put it on."

Natalie blinked several times. "What?"

"I want you to be me for one day."

Natalie let out a small laugh and narrowed her eyes. "You're joking with me, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking Natalie?" Death asked, completely dead-panned from her genuine shock. Natalie answered with a simple shake of the head. "Put on the ring and be me for one whole day. But, if you take the ring off before the 24 hours are up...the deal is off. Sam doesn't get his soul back. \We clear?"

Natalie nodded her understanding and pursed her lips. "But, why do you want me to do this?"

"I have my reasons. But, let's just say, I'm curious to see how you can handle yourself in certain situations. Because in the direction you are heading...you are going to need it."

Natalie couldn't help the sigh of annoyance that escaped. "What is it that you keep on hinting about? Do you see something in my future or what? Is something going to happen to me?"

"Now that...is something that you will have to wait and see." Death simply stated. He gave her one last look and turned to walk away when he stopped. "And one more thing Natalie-"

* * *

The room was silent, except for Natalie's continuous flat-lining that was reverberating through Dean's ears. Dr. Robert had already administered the adrenaline into Natalie's IV drip...and nothing has happened.

Dean could feel himself holding in his breath, his eyes never leaving Natalie, but as seconds turned into minutes and there was no improvement, his hope was now starting to dwindle down to nothing. Dean finally took a small step back away from Natalie, already surmising that she wasn't going to make it.

Natalie's eyes suddenly shot open and she sucked in a huge breath. Dr. Robert immediately placed his hands on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Oh, thank Moses." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Natalie looked around her, feeling her body shaking from the adrenaline that was still pumping through her. "Really doc? You couldn't have given me just a few more seconds?"

"Sweetie, you were out for almost ten minutes." Dr. Robert replied, but it also told Natalie that if she had been dead any longer then she wouldn't have come back.

Dean walked over to Natalie and took hold of her arm and she looked over at him. Immediately, Dean could see her expression fall and he knew that Natalie thought he was still pissed at her. Which, in all honesty, he was, but seeing her breathing was something he was just grateful for.

"Come on, let's sit you up." Dr. Robert said as he and Dean both gently pushed Natalie up into a sitting position.

Once she was sitting up, Dean immediately wrapped his arms around her and Natalie didn't stop herself from doing the same. But, the hug was soon ended by Dean who pulled away from her, readying himself to give her some kind of lecture.

"Nad. Don't ever. Ever. Pull something like that again. Like seriously, Nad. My face is still numb from that punch you threw at me."

Natalie offered Dean an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Dean. Just sometimes, I need to take one for the team."

"No, Nad, you don't And that doesn't mean you are going to be let off the hook that easy Nad."

Natalie sighed and gave a slight roll of her eyes. "Dean, before you go into a long lecture. I have a way to get Sam's soul back."

Dean's expression turned from scolding to relieved curiosity. "How?"

Natalie slowly pushed herself off of the table and pointed over at her jacket, which Dean grabbed along with his. "I'll tell you when we get to Bobby's." She turned back to Dr. Robert. "Thanks for everything Dr. Robert."

Dean took a hold of Natalie's arm and began to guide her out of the room. "You know Bobby is going to have a fit when he finds out."

"Yeah, well." Natalie paused as she stumbled slightly. "That's what I get."

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking Nad?!" Bobby called out.

Natalie sighed and leaned against the wall, her arms folded over her chest. "Here we go." Dean and Natalie had arrived back at Bobby's not to long ago and Sam had agreed to meet them there. But, Natalie really wasn't in the mood to hear them lecturing her.

"I mean seriously, we all knew that something major could have gone wrong and from what Dean told me, you were close to staying dead!"

"Bobby, please just-"

"Not to mention the fact that you managed to knock Dean out. Which I am surprised at." Bobby said casting a look over at Dean.

"Hey! I didn't see it coming all right! I didn't think Nad would do it." Dean said, trying to defend himself.

"Well, you've known her long enough to know how stubborn she is."

"Will you two just shut up?!" Natalie yelled, halting the conversation between Bobby and Dean. "You guys never give me the benefit of the doubt. Every time we have to do something risky it's always, 'Nad just stay back on this one'. I spent practically a year all by myself...I think I can take care of myself."

"Nad, what you did was a stupid act. Just don't do something like that again." Bobby said, trying to reason with her. "We just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Well, that's different from what Death thinks." Natalie mumbled to herself.

"What?" Bobby asked.

Natalie looked at him and shook her head. "Nothing." Her eyes then focused on Sam. "I have a way to get your soul back."

Sam's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I was able to convince Death to get your soul back." Natalie finished, feeling quite relieved at hearing the words herself.

"You what?!" Sam called out, walking towards hers. "I heard Cas and Crowley, Nad. They said it would either kill me or turn me to jello! I think I heard enough."

"No, Sam, listen to me. Death said that he will put up a wall."

Sam furrowed his brows. "A wall?"

Natalie nodded. "Yes, a wall. It's basically a dam that will make sure that you won't remember anything from hell."

"Really? So like for good? Like it can cure whatever being in that cage has done to me?"

Natalie hesitated and bit down on her lip. "Well...no, it's-it's not a cure. Death said that it could last quite some time."

"Oh. So basically we are just playing fast and loose with my life here. Wouldn't you think so?"

Natalie sighed heavily as her shoulders slumped. "Sam...dammit, I'm just trying to help you, all right?"

"Exactly, Nad! It's not your life that is being risked here! It's mine! And it sure ain't your head that's gonna explode when this whole scheme goes wrong!"

Natalie rubbed her temples, feeling to tired to actually go into an in-depth argument with him. "Sam, please. I did not just die for ten minutes just so you could shut down this plan."

"I'm curious though." Bobby said. "I know that Death can't be doing this out of the goodness of his heart. So, what's the deal between you two?"

"I have to wear his ring for the whole day. Be him." Natalie answered.

Bobby and Dean exchanged a confused look. "Why the hell would he want you to do that?" Bobby asked.

Natalie shrugged. "He said that he had his reasons. Mainly because he wanted to see if I-" She stopped herself from going any further, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"He wanted to see if you...what?" Dean asked, deciding to press the matter a little more.

"Nothing. The point is that I need to complete this deal, without failing. And that's exactly what I plan on doing." Natalie gave Bobby, Dean and Sam the best reassuring look she could conjure. "Where's the ring?"

Dean hesitantly pulled the ring out of his pocket and walked over to her, placing it in her hand. "I still don't like this Nad."

"I know." Natalie fumbled around with the ring in her hand for a few moments, then placed it in her pocket. "But, I need to do this."

Sam, without a word, walked past them out of the room and walked out onto the front porch. Natalie let out a sigh. "I'll be fine. You guys don't have to worry. All right? Just...watch Sam."

Bobby and Dean both nodded for their responses. Natalie took in a breath and walked out of the room and onto the front porch. Seeing Sam standing there, most likely thinking through her plan, she decided to try and get him to understand.

"Sam. I know you feel indifferent about all of this and I don't blame you. But, you just need to trust me on this."

"I now you mean well Nad. It's just you don't know if this whole wall thing is even going to work."

Natalie nodded her understanding. "But, if Death says he can do it...then I believe him. But, you just need to stick with the plan. I promise it will all go the way it should be."

Sam scoffed, giving her a quick side glance. "You can't promise that, Nad."

"Yes, I can. Because I'm doing this for you Sam. And I'm gonna make sure that everything goes the way it should."

* * *

**Okay so what did you all think?! How do you like the idea of Nad being Death?! Let me know! Don't forget to drop me a review! Xx**


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: So my schoolwork has lightened up for me this week so I had more time to write this chapter. I'm hoping to get the next one up this weekend. I am so glad you all liked the previous chapter! And I am happy to see how anxious you are about what Death was talking about. There shall be more hints dropped throughout the rest of this story and into the next one. I really can't wait to start writing out this story arch for Natalie and I am pretty sure the result is something you guys won't expect...or maybe you do expect it...I don't know. We shall see!_

_Also this is the longest chapter I have written in all three stories! ACCOMPLISHMENT! Also, five more days until season 10! Are you guys excited?! I know I am!_

_I once again dedicate this chapter to __**Ladysunshine6**_

_Let's get on with the chapter shall we!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Natalie stood in the middle of the sidewalk, her eyes scanning around the town that she was in. She was already beginning to have some doubts about doing this, not so much about what might happen to her, but, she couldn't stop thinking about the possible outcomes of Sam getting his soul back. Would the wall even be strong enough to hold back his memories? Or will Death just sell her out and put a faulty dam in Sam's mind? Thinking things like that, really isn't a great way to start off the day you have to play 'Death'.

With the ring in her hands, she began to idly fumble with it, trying to put up whatever guard she needed in order to get through this as clean as possible. "Here goes nothing." Natalie slowly slid the ring onto her finger and looked in front of her, thinking there would be a major difference...there wasn't.

"Guess they're just going to let anyone be Death these days, aren't they?"

Natalie turned to see Tessa walking towards her. "Yeah, it's good to see you to Tessa."

"Let's get one thing straight. I don't like this. And I just feel like you're going to screw up some how."

Natalie cringed slightly at the slight harshness in Tessa's words. "You're going a little bitter there. Plus, it was Death's idea...not mine."

"Then let's just be clear on one thing so we can get through this. You are going to stick to the rules. All right?"

Natalie shrugged giving Tessa an obvious look. "That's the plan."

"Which means you will kill _everyone _whose time is up. Got it?"

"Okay. But, how will I know who I need to kill?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Tessa said, folding her arms over her chest. "I have a list. You touch them, they die and then I reap them. That's all. Stick with those basic rules and you should be able to win this deal, no problem."

Natalie gave an less-than-optimistic shrug, feeling like she was starting to not want to do this. "Natalie, now is not the time for this unsure attitude. You take off the ring and you lose the bet. Sam doesn't get his soul back. So you need to stay focus. Don't mess it up."

Natalie took Tessa's words into her consideration and nodded in agreement. The quicker they got onto the task of killing and reaping, Sam will get his soul. "Okay. I got it."

"Good." Tessa walked past Natalie, nudging her arm to follow her. "Oh also, when people die, they might have questions for you."

Natalie nodded her head once and then looked over at Tessa. "Questions like..."

"Like 'what does me dying all mean?' "

Natalie gave a confused shake of the head. "Are you going to give me something to say?"

"No."

"Well, then what the hell am I supposed to do? Try and come up with a powerful meaning right on the spot?"

Tessa gave Natalie an eye roll. "Just suck it up and do your best. It's part of the job."

"Maybe I'll just throw some Gandalf quotes at them. Those usually have some philosophical meaning to them." Natalie commented, which earned a small laugh from Tessa.

The entirety of their walk consisted of silence between both of them. No word was really spoken to each other. Natalie had never met Tessa before their little interaction back at the store. That wasn't exactly the best note to go off of.

Before long, Natalie and Tessa came upon a convenience store and Tessa quickly ushered them both in. Once inside, Natalie could hear yelling coming from the cashier counter not to far from them and looking over, she could see that the store was being robbed.

"They can't see you so don't try and stop it." Tessa said to her, walking closer to the scene. "You just need to let it all play out."

Natalie silently walked up along side Tessa, her eyes fixed on the scene and it was then that she noticed the little boy clutching onto the man being robbed, who she could only tell was his father. She felt herself grow heavy at the chances that it might be the boy she would have to take.

"Who am I going to have to take?" Natalie asked, looking over at Tessa when she didn't answer. "Which is it, Tessa?"

"You just need to wait and see."

Natalie scoffed at Tessa's response, not to happy with the answer that she got, but what else was she supposed to do. Instead, she settled for watching the event play out, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do. All the while, she was silently praying that the kid would walk away from this unscathed.

The man, pushes the bag that was sitting on the counter, onto the floor and the robber, annoyingly, bent down to pick it up. The man, who had pushed his son behind him, reached underneath the counter and pulled out a gun. When the robber stood back up to face him, the man fired off a shot that pierced the robber in the chest.

Natalie's eyes widened at the turn of events that just happened and was pushed out of her trance when Tessa nudged her in the side.

"Go ahead. Take him." She stated.

Natalie gave Tessa an unsure look and received a nod for her to get on and do what she needed to do. Taking in a breath, Natalie hesitantly walked over to the bleeding robber and knelt down next to him. As she scanned over the wound, Natalie reached her hand up and gently touched the top of his hand.

Natalie watched as his breathing stopped and his eyes closed and she couldn't help but feel almost kind of sick to her stomach. Standing back up, she turned to find that he was standing next to Tessa.

"Why?" He asked, his eyes never leaving his dead body.

Natalie looked down at his body and then back to him. "You didn't exactly make the best choices. Guess they came back to bite you."

Tessa grabbed hold of his arm, motioning for him to leave with her. Natalie watched silently as Tessa and the robber left the store and she took a moment to grasp what had happened. She had practically killed someone and that didn't sit well with her. Despite the fact that he was a robber, Natalie couldn't help the sickening feeling that was stirring inside of her.

"Hopefully that will be as bad as it gets." Natalie sighed to herself.

* * *

Walking down the street, Tessa had taken a notice that Natalie was quiet, a lot more quiet compared to how she was at the beginning. Taking a quick look at Natalie, she could only surmise that maybe this whole, being Death thing, wasn't exactly what she thought it would be. Though, what exactly would a person think being Death would be like? It's certainly not something fun to do.

"That was simple enough for you, wasn't it?" Tessa asked, breaking the silence that was between them.

Though at her words, Natalie gave her a look. "I just took away a human's life...that's not exactly something I'm to fond of right now."

"You were the one who agreed to the deal, Natalie. You should have known it wasn't going to be a walk in the park."

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy." Natalie quickly retorted. "I just didn't expect that it would feel like this."

"What did you think it was going to be like?" Tessa asked.

Natalie gave her a shrug. "I don't know! I just...didn't expect to feel like this. I don't know how else to explain it." Natalie answered, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, you better get used to it, quick. Because you still have a long way to go before the deal is done." Tessa commented.

Natalie cringed at her words, knowing that she was right. Natalie still had hours left of this whole, be Death for a day, thing. And despite the fact that she wanted to just go back to Bobby's, this deal was something that she had to win. This was now their _only _chance on getting Sam's soul back.

For some reason though, thinking about all of this, it made Natalie remember what Death told her while they were talking. The whole, 'something is coming your way' speech had actually unnerved her quite a bit. The more she thought about it, the more paranoid she began to feel.

"Tessa?" Natalie asked, deciding to ask her about it.

"What?"

"Those things that Death said to me, back there, about the whole 'something drastic is coming your way' and that I needed to keep an eye out. Do you have any idea what he is talking about?"

Tessa remained silent, keeping her eyes forward so that she wouldn't have to look at Natalie. But, the silence just caused Natalie to become even more suspicious.

"You do know don't you? You know what's going to happen to me?"

"No, I don't." Tessa said, turning to look at her.

Seeing the skeptical look on Natalie's face, Tessa knew she had to press further. "I am telling the truth, Natalie. I have no idea what Death was talking about and actually I don't think Death knows either. He doesn't know what's going to happen...he just knows something will happen. And in all honesty."

Tessa stopped her walking to take a good look at Natalie, then proceeded on their way. "There is something about you. It's almost like there's this...dark aura that surrounds you. I just see pain and death."

Natalie let out a scoff. "Well, I have experienced a lot of death in my life."

"It's more than that Natalie. I just don't know what it is...I can't give you any other explanations. Like Death said, you just have to see through it yourself."

Natalie nodded, still not satisfied with what Tessa had told her. "That's just going to be a whole bunch of fun."

"There's our next person." Tessa said, pointing over to a man sitting on a bench, eating away on a piece of pizza.

Natalie looked over at the guy and furrowed her brows slightly. Though she had to admit that she was happy they found their next person. It would allow her to try and forget what Death had said to her. "Is this one going to be simple to?" Getting another look at him, Natalie pursed her lips together. "I'm guessing this is going to be a heart attack?"

The man sitting on the bench suddenly halted his eating and his hand flew up to his chest as he fell to the ground in front of them.

Natalie stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. "I guess I spoke to soon." She said as she walked over to him and touched him on the arm. Looking back up, she saw the man staring at her.

"Why?"

Natalie bit down on her bottom lip and gazed back down at the unfinished pizza. "Maybe...not enough healthy choices?" She said, giving him an unsure look.

The man's face lightened and he gave a small laugh. "Yeah. It was good though."

Natalie gave him a faint smile. "Well, it's time for you to go."

The man nodded and turned to leave with Tessa, but stopped, and looked back at Natalie. "Will you tell me, at least, what it all means?"

Natalie froze, her eyes widening slightly, due to the fact that she didn't expect to be asked anything further then 'why?'. Her eyes flickered over to Tessa, who gave her an encouraging nod to say something. _What am I going to say? Think. _Natalie cleared her throat, upon noticing the expectant look on the man's face and she gave him a hesitant smile.

"Death...is just another path...one that we all must take." Natalie finished, feeling a little proud with herself that she remembered this line from _Lord of The Rings. _

The man nodded in understanding and took her words into consideration. But, his brows furrowed as he recognized the familiarity of those words. "Wait...isn't that from _Lord of the Rings?_"

"Hmm?" Natalie quickly responded, not thinking that he would catch onto that.

"That quote. That's from _Lord of the Rings. _Isn't it?"

Natalie gave him a forced exaggerated look and shrugged her shoulders. "I-I don't think so."

The man narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. "No, I think it is. You pulled that quote right from the movie."

Natalie stared at the man, at lost for how to defend herself and then she settled for a laugh. She looked over at Tessa and silently communicated to get him out of here.

Tessa rolled her eyes and grabbed the man by his arm. "Sorry about that. She's new." As they both turned to walk away, Tessa gave Natalie a look, which was responded by Natalie holding up her arms in a questioning manner.

Once they were out of sight, Natalie let out a sigh and thought back to what she had told him and then hummed to herself. "I thought it was a really good quote for the moment." She said to herself.

* * *

Tessa and Natalie walked down a hospital corridor and Natalie was just trying to prepare herself to have to go through this, once again. "Oh by the way, that whole quote thing back there, great job." Tessa commented out of random.

Natalie gave her a look and shrugged. "I told you earlier that I was going to result to quoting Gandalf, I wasn't lying. You put me on the spot like that, I panic. But, in all honesty, I thought the quote worked for the moment."

"Whatever you say Natalie." Tessa came to a stop outside of a hospital room and motioned for Natalie to enter. "After you boss."

Natalie furrowed her brows slightly before looking into the room and she saw a father sitting on the hospital bed, reading a book to his daughter. From hearing bits and pieces of their conversation, Natalie heard that they were talking about a California trip they took when she was younger.

Closing her eyes, Natalie let out a pained sigh and looked over at Tessa. "The dad or the girl?"

"The girl." Tessa replied.

Natalie shook her head and looked over at Tessa. "No, Tessa. How old is she?"

"12."

Natalie turned her head to look at the father and the girl. "Does...does he have any other family?"

"No, not really."

"You have got to be kidding me." Natalie allowed her head to hang.

"What? Did you think it was gonna be robbers and heart attacks all day?"

"Tess, I can't do it! I mean she is only 12 years old!"

"And she has a very serious heart condition."

Natalie looked back at the girl and seeing the two of them together, it only made her think of her and her father. All memories of them together were beginning to flood back into her mind. Natalie had lost to much of her own family, she wasn't going to do it to these two.

"Who is the next person on the list?" Natalie asked, turning to Tessa.

"You have to take her Natalie."

"I'm not taking her. And who says that I have to?"

Tessa gave Natalie a look. "Death."

"Yeah, well, I'm Death. And who tells him then?"

"I don't know. It's just how it is. It's destiny."

Natalie scoffed and shook her head. "Don't give me that destiny crap. I watched destiny being altered during the apocalypse last year. There is always another way. The girl lives."

"Natalie, destiny is very much real. Sometimes it can be bended into different ways. But, everyone has one. That little girl is meant to die. Just like you have your own 'destiny' brewing up in the pot. You can't cheat out of it."

Natalie inched closer to Tessa. "Just watch me. She is living." Natalie said as she brushed past Tessa to walk out into the hallway.

"Natalie, you do realize when you don't abide by what fate has in store...there will be consequences...dire ones."

"I don't care. I'm Death for the day and that girl is off the list. You got it?" Natalie waited for Tessa to respond but all she got was a very faint nod.

* * *

"Medically, I can't explain it."

"So her heart just healed?"

"Couple of times in your career, you see something you just got to call a miracle. All I know is I won't have to operate." The doctor finished giving his information to the father before leaving.

Natalie had watched the entire scene, more than pleased at the fact that the young girl was already on the road to recovery. Looking over at Tessa, Natalie saw that she was less than enthusiastic about all of this.

"You see?" Natalie said, peering into the room. "Everything is going to be fine. The girl is getting better...and nothing has happened."

Tessa continued to stare at Natalie, waiting to see if she will finally understand that this wasn't the way that all of this was supposed to turnout. She tried to get Natalie to understand, but she wouldn't listen. If anything, Tessa knew that something bad was going to happen, sooner or later.

"Come on." Tess finally said, turning away and began to walk down the hallway.

Natalie rolled her eyes slightly and followed after her. At first, Natalie thought there were more people she would have to see before leaving, but no, Tessa was already making for the hospital exit. And the whole time, Natalie had been trying to talk with her, only to be met with silence. _She's pissed. _Natalie knew why and she understood Tessa's reasoning, but that little girl was going to live, nothing bad would come from that.

Reaching the main lobby of the hospital, Natalie and Tessa were making a quick walk towards the exit with Natalie trying to talk with her the whole time.

"Tessa? Hey. What are you just going to be giving me the silent treatment? That's a little childish don't you think?" Natalie questioned.

Tessa suddenly stopped, causing Natalie to do the same. Just then, a team of paramedics came rushing in with a new patient lying on the gurney. "Damn it! I knew this would happen!" Tessa hissed out.

Natalie gave her a confused look. "Wait, what do you mean?"

The two of them walk towards the emergency room, where the nurses were beginning to work on stabilizing the patient. It took several looks for Natalie for her to recognize who it was. She was a nurse who had been in and out of the little girl's room. She was just someone Natalie would see past by, but she knew that face.

"Oh my god...that's..."

"Yeah. You let the girl live. The nurse goes home early, gets in a crash she wouldn't have. And she needs the heart surgeon, and where is he?" Tessa finished, looking over at Natalie.

Natalie kept her eyes on the battered body of the nurse and she shook her head in denial. "No. No, this can't be because of me letting the girl live."

"I knew that you had knocked over a domino somewhere." Tess commented. The heart monitor began to beep, signaling that she was close to flat-lining. Tessa quickly ushered Natalie towards the nurse. "Take her."

Natalie looked back at her, eyes widened. "What?! No! She's not on the list Tessa."

"Like I said before Natalie, everything you do has consequences. Do you want to set off another chain reaction?"

As she looked back at the nurse, Natalie could begin to feel her hands start to shake from her shock and denial. "No. She has nothing to do with this Tessa!"

"Well, too bad, Natalie. You put on the ring. Now do your damn job."

Natalie views the nurses trying to revive her as she hesitantly made her way over to the side of the gurney. Raising her hand, Natalie slowly touched the nurse's arm and the loud flat-lining soon began to resonate through her ears.

"Am I dead?"

Natalie's head turned to the side and she saw the nurse's spirit standing at the end of the bed and soon she could fee herself being eaten away from her guilt.

"I can't be dead. I'm..."

"So young." Tessa finished for her. "Actually, you were supposed to live for many decades. Have kids, grandkids. But, she screwed up." Tessa finished, motioning over to Natalie.

The nurse turned to look at Natalie, her eyes filled with confusion. "You did this to me?"

Natalie was at lost for words. She was the sole reason for this woman dying, when she wasn't supposed to. All those years of blaming herself for what happened to her mom, dad and brother, she had always blamed herself when she wasn't to blame. But now, all of this was on her. And that was what stung the most.

No words she could think of, not that anything was coming to mind, could give this woman any kind of solace for what happened to her. All of this would not have taken place, if Natalie had just stuck with killing the people that needed to die, not to try and alter destinies.

When Natalie said nothing, Tessa gently took hold of the woman's arm. "Come on, Jolene. It's time to go."

"Wait!" Natalie suddenly called out and Jolene stopped to look back at her. "I...I'm sorry."

Once they disappeared, Natalie was only left alone with her guilt ridden thoughts. She honestly had no idea that something like this would happen. Allow one to live only to have some innocent person to take the fall for it. If she had known all of this could have taken place, Natalie wouldn't have let the girl live. Would she really though? Natalie wasn't to sure how much of her own thoughts were the truth. Regardless of how much Natalie could have known before, she didn't know if that would have changed her mind to save the little girl. Maybe, no matter what, this was supposed to happen. Natalie was supposed to slip up and make a mistake...a huge mistake.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a man, calling out. Looking up, she saw him approaching the room she was still standing in.

"Where's my wife?!"

The look on his face the moment he saw Jolene's lifeless body, was one that Natalie hopes to never see again. Painful denial that was then overcome with tremendous grief. All of those emotions evoked in just a matter of seconds and Natalie was responsible for it.

The man stumbled over to Jolene's side, his hand rested against the side of her cheek, thinking that in some way, she might wake up to it. But, that of course wasn't the case.

Finally building up the courage, Natalie turned around and saw the man clinging onto Jolene's lifeless body, sobbing into her shoulder. Watching the scene unfold, Natalie wanted nothing more than to change what happened. Fix the mistake that she had made. But, no matter what she does from now on, it wasn't going to turn around this outcome.

Her lips pursed together, in an attempt to keep her emotions in line, but standing there watching this, it wasn't making the situation any better. Huffing out a breath, Natalie reluctantly turned away from the room and walked away.

* * *

Standing back in the girls room and even though Natalie had been contemplating her mistake, she still couldn't see herself killing her. It just didn't feel right. It had all been going smoothly at the beginning. Natalie mentally berated herself though for thinking that it was just going to be simple robbers or common heart attacks.

"You saw what happened to the nurse Natalie. Go and kill the girl." Tessa finally spoke, breaking the silence that was between them. "She's disrupting the natural order by being alive. Chaos and sadness will follow her for the rest of her life. We tried it your way. Now we have to do this."

Natalie tiredly shook her head and leaned it against the window of the room. Now she was just to tired to put up an argument with Tessa. That didn't mean she was going to oblige by her terms to quickly though. All she wanted was for this to finally be over with. That way she wouldn't have to kill anymore people, She wouldn't have to make any more mistakes.

Down the sidewalk of the street across from the hospital, Natalie could see a man stumbling in his steps. Taking a closer look, she saw that it was Jolene's husband with a drink in his hands and she knew that this wouldn't end well for him.

"Damn." Natalie silently cursed. Turing around, she quickly walked out of the room.

Tessa had quickly gone after and stood halfway out in the middle of the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Just wait here Tessa." Natalie called back, not turning to look at her and instead, picked up her pace into a run.

Natalie sprinted down the hallway and through the main lobby and didn't stop until she was standing outside the entrance to the hospital. Down the sidewalk across the road from her, Natalie spotted the man continuing his stumbling walk and she saw that he was making his way towards a car.

Natalie quickly ran across the street and reached the car before he did. _What am I going to do? _Natalie thought frantically to herself. He can't see her and she can't take off the ring or she will lose the bet. Instead, after much debate, she quickly got into the car just as he was.

Placing the bottle between his legs, the man pulled out his keys and struggled to get them in the ignition. Natalie was silently hoping that he would give up or just pass out, but eventually, he got the keys into the ignition and turned on the car.

As he began to drive down the road, Natalie was trying to come up with a plan. _He can't see you. Don't take off the ring or you lose. Don't touch him or he's dead. _There was literally nothing Natalie could do in her situation, except for one thing...she had to take the ring off and she knew it. There was no way she could help him with the ring on. If Natalie was going to make sure that he didn't kill himself, she was going to have to take the ring off.

"Hey. You need to pull the car over." Natalie said, even though she knew that it wouldn't have any effect. Still, she thought that she would try it. "Come on, you are going to kill yourself! You need to stop the car!"

The man picked up the bottle and took a few huge drinks from it and showing no regard that he could hear Natalie talking next to him.

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I did this to you...and Jolene. But, you need to pull over!"

The man gripped onto the steering wheel tighter and began to speed up and by the looks of him, Natalie knew that his ability to keep up his attention were really starting to dwindle from the alcohol.

Staring down at the ring, Natalie knew that now she was out of options. She was going to have to take it off. "Please don't make me do this." Natalie silently pleaded, knowing that he wasn't going to hear her.

The speed of the car began to accelerate once again and Natalie knew she had no other choice. "Sorry Sam." Natalie grasped the ring and pulled it off of her finger.

"Stop the car!" Natalie called out.

"What the hell?!" The man called out and turned the steering wheel by accident, mostly because Natalie scared the shit out of him. The car turned towards an electrical pole and collided with it.

Natalie felt her body surge forward towards the dashboard, the sound of breaking glass and crunching metal emanated the memories she had of that night she and Andrew were in that car accident. Leaning her head up, Natalie hissed at the throbbing she felt on the side of her head. Looking over, the man was leaned up against the steering wheel and she reached over, pressing her fingers against the side of his neck and was able to feel a pulse.

_He's alive._

Natalie turned to the passenger door, which had been severely bent, and tried to open it but ended up having to kick it open. Stepping out with her hand to her head, Natalie looked around, already feeling the defeat of losing the bet.

"Tessa?! I lost! I took off the damn ring." Natalie's voice wavered at the end, causing her to hang her head. "Do you hear me?!" She called out again, only to remember that she had taken off the ring. Natalie sighed and slid the ring back on her finger and saw Tessa standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry you lost the bet." Tessa said. "I know you were just trying to help Sam."

Natalie scoffed, blinking back the tears that had started to form out of her frustration. "Yeah, well, you were right. If I had just listened to you...stuck with the people who needed to die...none of this would have happened."

"You are resilient. I give you that. You did what you thought was right.."

"Yeah, but, I managed to screw up. Jolene was never supposed to get caught up in all of this. And because of my decision..." Natalie stopped and pursed her lips. "We need to get back to the hospital."

Tessa gave Natalie a confused look. "Natalie. We're done. The bet is over."

Natalie shook her head. "No. There's something that I need to do before I leave."

* * *

The room was still, the soft breathing coming from both the father and girl and the steady beeping from the heart monitor. In just a matter of minutes, it will all turn to chaos.

Natalie walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down next to the father. Looking at his face, it was easy for her to see the relief that she saw. He was relieved that his daughter was finally getting better and that they would be able to go on those trips he talked about. But, none of that was going to happen and it would be Natalie who would ensure that it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry. I am really...really sorry. But, you might want to wake up. Say your last goodbyes."

Natalie stood back up and touched the girl's hand and walked back over to the foot of the bed upon hearing the heart monitor going off. The little girl was standing next to Natalie, watching the scene of nurses trying to revive her.

"I'm dead?"

Natalie looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but you are."

"But...what about my dad? What's going to happen to him?"

Natalie looked over at the father who was trying to be consoled out in the hallway. "He'll be fine. It won't be easy for him...but, he'll get through it."

"But...I can't just leave him. He needs me. This isn't fair!"

Natalie knelt down next to her, so that she was leveled at the same height. "I know. It's not fair to either of you. And I wish it didn't have to be this way. But...there's this thing called the Natural Order...and if it's not in the right...sync...then a lot of bad things happen."

"Natural order is stupid."

Natalie smiled faintly at her resilience. "Yeah. It does."

Tessa placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Come on Hilary. It's time to go."

Natalie took a moment and looked back at the scene that was still unfolding in the hospital room. The nurses trying to revive her and the father, starting to break down. She would have given anything for it to not end like this.

Finally, she had decided that it was enough. There was no use in torturing herself by watching all of this any longer. Natalie finally walked out into the hallway and slowly made her way back towards the main lobby.

_What am I going to tell them?"_

What exactly was Natalie going to say to them? Dean, especially. She knew that Sam was really iffy on getting his soul back, but Dean, he just wanted his brother to be all right. Now Natalie has destroyed really their only chance on helping Sam. How was she supposed to look at Dean and tell them how miserable she failed? Right now, all she wanted was to get back to the car and go to Bobby's. She will figure out what she's going to say on the way there, though she knew it wouldn't be any use.

* * *

Parking the car near the garage, Natalie turned off the engine and settled back against her seat. The entire drive was only consisted of Natalie scolding herself. _Why didn't you just listen to Tessa? _

"Might as well get this over with." Natalie pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car.

Though the first thing that caught her attention was that the Impala was nowhere in sight. _Dean probably just went out._ Natalie thought to herself as she closed the car door.

Walking around the car, she began to make her way up to the front but when she looked up, the door was halfway open. That caused her to stop in her tracks. "What the hell?" Natalie cautiously walked up onto the porch and peered in through the space, though she didn't see anything...and that unnerved her.

Pressing her hand against the door, Natalie pushed it open allowing herself to walk in. "Bobby?!" Natalie called out only to be met with silence. She took a few steps into the house and began to make her way into the kitchen. "Sam?!"

Once in the kitchen, Natalie noticed that there was quite a bit of mess on the floor. As she continued on through the house she came upon one of the closet doors and it had been hacked. Literally, hacked to almost nothing and a little bit away the door that led to the basement was left open. _What is going on?_

"Bobby?! Sam?!" Natalie called out, this time her voice sounded a little more panicked. Neither of them would just leave doors open like this and what the hell was up with the destroyed closet door?

From outside, Natalie heard the quick but faint sound of one of the garage doors opening and closing. For a second she was relieved at the thought that they were probably just out there. But, what happened in the house?

Natalie made her way over to the front door and looked out onto the lawn, but saw no one. Her body immediately went tense and she reached back for her gun and pulled it out, cocking it in the process. Taking a quick sweep, Natalie then walked off of the porch and began to make her way over to the garage.

Inching closer to the building, she didn't see anything that looked like a struggle, unlike what it looked like back at the house. "Bobby? Sam?" Her voice came through louder than she had anticipated.

Finally reaching one of the doors, Natalie raised her hand to open it when the sound of footsteps came up from behind her. Her hand, consciously tightened its hold on the gun as she spun around. But, she was met with an incredible force that went across the face. Natalie stumbled back against the side of the building, her head throbbing and her vision had blurred from the hit.

Looking up she could see the outline was someone standing in front of her and as her vision began to go in and out of focus, it gave her enough time to see that it was Sam.

Natalie quickly raised a hand out to him and dropped her gun. "Sam...don't..." Natalie was silenced by another punch that Sam had thrown at her. A strong, iron flavor flooded her mouth and a stinging, burning sensation was spreading throughout her face.

Sam grabbed Natalie by the collar jacket and she soon found herself staring up at him. Eyes hard with determination and ruthlessness and she could feel her guilt for not winning dig deeper. This was the Sam she and the others would have to deal with because of her mistake.

"Sam..." Natalie faintly whispered. "...please, don't." Natalie was only praying that she could somehow talk through to him, but as his fist came up again she knew there was no point. With that, Natalie felt another force cut down on her and everything went black.

* * *

_"Nad. Hey. Come on, wake up."_

A gentle tapping against the side of her face woke Natalie up and she let out a hiss as Dean continued his tapping. "D-dean...stop..."

Dean ceased his tapping when he realized it was on the side of her face where the damage was. "Sorry, Nad. You all right?"

Natalie groaned, not able to say much. Her head was still pounding from Sam's hits and she could feel that the blood had dried in and around her mouth.

"Okay." Dean knelt down next to her, wrapped his arm around her back. "I'm going to get you back up on your feet."

Natalie only groaned in response.

"All right." Dean gently stood himself back up, but pulled Natalie along with him, easily.

Natalie then let out a panicked sound. "Dean...s-sam...where..."

"It's okay, Nad. I got here just in time." Dean pulled Natalie closer to him as he began to walk them back to the house. "Bobby and I got him down in the panic room."

Natalie huffed in approval then rested her head against Dean's shoulder.

"It was crazy Nad. He had Bobby tied up in the garage. Doing only god knows what." Dean added as he took the porch steps one at a time to give Natalie time to take the steps herself.

"I'm gonna get you to the bathroom. We gotta get you cleaned up." Dean tightened his hold on Natalie and quickened his pace until they finally reached the bathroom. Walking in, Dean put down the toilet seat with his foot and then brought Natalie around, gently setting her down.

Natalie, upon feeling herself sitting down, allowed her body to slump in its posture. The sound of the faucet going on acted almost like a calming mechanism, something that she could easily fall asleep to, which she could. Her head was still throbbing and sleep sounded like paradise right now.

Dean knelt in front of Natalie and now that they were in a good source of light, he was able to get a better look at her face. Her lip had a deep split that was caked in dried blood and her left cheek was just starting to turn purple. Dean clenched his jaw at the sight and then pressed the rag to her lip which made Natalie hum in pain.

"Sorry." Dean spoke as he began to wipe at the dried blood around her mouth. "So, what happened? Can you tell me?"

Natalie cleared her throat a couple of times. "I came back...saw that you were gone. Uh...went inside saw the house was just wrecked. Went outside and Sam just started wailing on me. That's the shortened version."

Dean turned away to rinse off the rag and then went back to cleaning, this time wiping off the blood and dirt on her cheek. Natalie closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of the warm rag against her face. "What about the whole thing with being Death?"

Natalie felt her body go tense and her eyes slowly opened. "I screwed up."

Dean's brows creased at her words. "What do you mean?" He asked, finishing up the cleaning.

"I took off the ring."

Dean stared at Natalie, having think for a while to remember what the deal was and his head nodded in realization. He tossed the rag into the sink and then knelt back down in front of her. "What happened?"

Natalie sighed and hissed at the tingling she felt in her cheek. "I messed up Dean...really badly. There was this little girl. Had a bad heart problem. She was one of the people that I was supposed to kill. But...I couldn't. She and her father...they were all they had...it was each other. I couldn't just take that away from them."

Dean nodded in his own agreement.

"So, I told Tessa that she wasn't going to die...I refused to do it. And because of that...this nurse left to go home early...and she got into a car accident. She didn't make it." Natalie paused to see Dean's reaction and his face was just still though sympathetic. "Her husband came in and he saw her...I watched him grieve for his wife who was never supposed to be involved in any of this! But, because of my choices an innocent woman had to lose her life."

Natalie swallowed back the sob that she felt had been stuck in her throat. "Her husband just went downhill. I saw him drinking and he got behind the wheel of his car. Naturally, I went with him but of course since I had the ring on, he couldn't hear or see me and I couldn't touch him or else he would have died. So...I had no other choice...I had to take off the ring. I couldn't just let him kill himself." Natalie slumped over to bury her face in her hands, not caring about whether she was putting up a scene or not.

Dean sighed heavily, his hand rubbed across his forehead. He wasn't angry, god no. If anything, he was upset with what Natalie had to go through. One of the many reasons why he had wished that he had done this, not her. But, he can relate to that kind of guilt that she was feeling.

Dean rested his hand on her back, giving her a few comforting rubs. "You know I can kind of relate to that. When I was in hell...I just, tore souls up like it was nothing. But, I feel that guilt everyday. The fact that I caused so much pain to all of those souls...I'll never get over it. I have to live with. We both now know what that's like."

"It's not just what happened to that nurse." Natalie said into her hands. "I lost the bet. Sam isn't getting his soul back Dean. We have to deal with whatever he is now. And it's all my fault."

Dean braced his hands on the sides of her face, making sure to be careful with her left side then lifted her head up so she was looking at him. "None of this was your fault. You did what I think anyone would do in your case. You're not Death, Natalie. And if you think I'm pissed or I blame you...I don't. We'll figure something else out."

Natalie answered Dean's words with a scoff of skepticism.

"Hey." Dean said. "What have we learned from last year? There is always another way. We learned that quite a few times. So we couldn't get Sam's soul back from Death...we'll find another way. All right?"

Natalie sighed, still doubtful about them finding another way, but Dean's optimism was so sincere. She didn't know whether he to believed it or whether he was just saying it to make her feel better. Either way, Natalie nodded her head which Dean was pleased to see.

Dean leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. "It's gonna be okay, Nad."

"Okay." Natalie whispered.

Dean stood back up and cleared his throat. "Just stay up here and relax Nad. I'm gonna go talk to Bobby."

Natalie nodded silently and watched as Dean left the bathroom. Sighing to herself, she stood up from the toilet seat and stood in front of the mirror. What she saw made her suck in a breath. The split in her lip was raw and pink, with new blood appearing but not seeping out and her left cheek. That's what she thought was the worst. It was almost to the point of being dark purple and it was slightly swollen. _This was all from Sam. _

Natalie shook her head and switched off the bathroom light then walked out. She needed something to drink, try and get her mind off of all that had happened. Reaching the kitchen, she was startled to find Death sitting at the table, eating a hot dog.

"Natalie. Please join me." Death pulls out a hot bog from the go-to box and set it near an empty chair. "These are from a little stand in Los Angeles known for their bacon dogs."

Natalie, without much nervousness or hesitation, walked over to the chair and sat down, but didn't touch the hot dog. Her appetite wasn't exactly at its strongest. "You really like cheap food, don't you?"

"It does help quench the cravings." Death commented before taking another bite. "Thought that I would have one last treat before putting the ring back on."

Natalie pulled the ring out from her pocket and placed it down on the table, not really wanting to hold onto it anymore.

"Heavier than it looks, isn't it? Sometimes, you just want the thing off. But you know that."

"Yeah." Natalie said. "I failed. I lost the bet. It's not easy being you...I don't get how you are able to do it."

"Years and years of practice." Death said. "So tell me, if you could go back, would you kill the little girl right away? No fuss?"

Natalie blinked a couple of times, not sure on the answer. She hadn't really been able to figure it out for herself. "Yeah, I would." She finally said, not sure if she actually believed it.

"Either way, if you mean it or not, I'm glad to hear it."

"But, I would have also saved that nurse." Natalie quickly added.

"Well, I think it's a little more than that. Today, Natalie, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite such fun, especially, when you have to mop up the mess. I know all of this is hard for you. You risk your life to save Sam because you thought it would be easy. But, it wasn't. The human soul is not some rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know. So...I'd like to think you learned something today."

"You knew didn't you?" Natalie suddenly asked and looked up at him.

"Knew what?"

"You knew that I would slip up somehow so you rigged the whole damn thing. Didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about Natalie."

Natalie let out a scoff. "Whatever. Just have the courtesy to tell me the truth."

"You know Natalie most people talk to me with a lot more respect than that."

Natalie shifted in her seat, mentally berating herself for saying that. "I'm sorry..."

"Those are some nasty lacerations you have there." Death said, scanning over her face. "Were those from Sam?"

Natalie remained silent, but moved her gaze away from him.

"That's a shame. Well, it's been a pleasure Natalie." Death said, picking up his. "Now, I'm going to tell to get Sam's soul back."

Natalie's face lightened as she looked back up at him. "What? But, I lost the bet."

"Well don't get to sentimental. You and the Winchesters act as a balance for everything. And you three cause global disruptions. But, the three of you have use. Right now, you three are doing more good than bad. Keep it up."

Natalie sighed in relief, a small smile crossing her lips. "Thank you."

Death went to put on his ring when Natalie stopped him. "Wait, Sam. The wall thing. Will it actually work?"

"I call it 75%." Death answered. "Good luck Natalie." Slipping on his ring Death then disappeared.

Natalie let out a small laugh, still in disbelief over the fact that Death was still going to get Sam's soul. This wasn't something she expected at all. Natalie then turned around and took off towards the basement.

"Dean! Bobby!" She called out once she reached the bottom of the steps and it caused both men to jump. "Open the door!" She yelled out as she walked towards them.

"Wait, what?" Bobby asked.

"Open the door!"

Bobby and Dean share a quick glance before walking over to the panic room door and opened it. The three of them saw Death approaching Sam, who was tied down on the cot."

"No! Get away from me!" Sam called out.

"Now, Sam, I'm gonna put up a barrier inside your mind. It might feel a little...itchy. Do me a favor...don't scratch the wall. Trust me...you're not gonna like what happens."

Sam looked over at the doorway, seeing the three of them watching him. "Please, don't let him do this! Nad. Dean. You have no idea what it will do to me! Please!"

Natalie kept her gaze on Sam, not making any kind of movement and she didn't say anything. Her eyes flickered over to Death, who something out of his bag and it didn't take much to know that it was Sam's soul. Biting down on her lip, Natalie's eyes widened slightly as Death pushed the soul into Sam's chest. Hearing Sam's screams, Natalie for a brief second, could feel herself beginning to doubt that the wall would work. But, as long as Sam didn't poke at it, he would be fine. He had to be.

* * *

**So! How did you all like it?! So the next chapter Nad and Sam will have a proper reunion and it's about time! I missed writing cute Nad and Sam scenes. Also I was wondering, regarding to what Death told Natalie last chapter and what Tessa said to her, do YOU guys have any predictions as to what might happen to Nad? If you do then post in the review, I'd love to see your ideas!**

**Until next time! Xx**


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Yay finally I get to write a chapter with Natalie and Sam, not Soulless Sam (even though I love soulless Sam, is that weird?) I got this chapter done pretty quickly because I am free from the chains of school (at least for this weekend). Hope you all enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

Natalie applied a bit more pressure to the ice pack against her cheek and gave a cringe. Her left cheek had swollen over night and Dean was adamant that she keep it on there to keep the swelling down. Usually, when he would convey that kind of brotherly-worry Natalie was quick to go against it, but, she wasn't to keen on arguing with him. Instead, she felt that doing what he said, without argument, was the best choice.

Both Dean and Natalie were standing outside of the panic room. Castiel was currently inside with Sam, who was still unconscious, taking a quick 'look' to see that Sam's soul was indeed in tact. Having Castiel here, checking Sam, gave both Natalie and Dean some hopeful reassurance.

As the night's hours ticked by and Sam still never woke up, it only made both of them become antsy. It made them increasingly paranoid, more like it, to the thought that Sam's mind was just going to collapse right then and there. He was going to remain in this coma state while his mind deteriorated. They just wanted him to wake up.

The panic room door opened and Castiel walked out, pulling his coat sleeve back down. "His soul is in place."

Dean peered into the room at his unconscious brother and looked expectantly at Castiel. "Is he ever going to wake up?"

"I'm not a human doctor Dean." Castiel responded, his tone a little hard.

"You could at least take a guess." Dean pressed again.

"Okay, then." Castiel turned to look at him. "Probably not."

Natalie let out a scoff and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Cas, don't try and ease the information onto us."

Castiel looked back at Natalie, giving her a look. "I'm sorry. But, I warned _both _of you not to put that thing back in him."

"Well, we had no choice." Natalie pulled the ice pack away from her face. "We couldn't just let Sam walk around with no soul. Just look what he did to Bobby...hell look what he did to me." Natalie said, pointing at her face. "Like hell we were gonna leave him like that."

Castiel's expression softened but there was still a hardness in his eyes. "I can take care of that if you want me to Natalie." Castiel sad, raising his hand to her.

Natalie immediately backed away and pressed the ice pack back to her face. "I don't need you to take care of this Cas."

Castiel ceased his advancement towards her and slowly dropped his hand. "I know you both only want what's best for Sam. But, I am saying that putting his soul back was not the wisest decision. You want to know what his soul felt like, when I touched it? It felt like it had been skinned alive."

Natalie visibly shook and closed her eyes. Great, now he was just making her regret ever going through with getting Sam's soul break.

"Like Nad said." Dean said to Castiel. "We couldn't leave him like that."

Castiel narrowed his eyes at Dean and shook his head. "If you wanted to kill your brother Dean, you should have done it outright."

Natalie heard the fluttering of wings and when she looked back up, Castiel was gone. Her eyes fell upon Sam's figure lying on the cot and that combined with Castiel's words, her enthusiastic approach to 'Sam will make it' was starting to dwindle.

The silence made Natalie look over at Dean and she could see him pensively looking at Sam. If it was hard for her to deal with, Natalie could only imagine what Dean must be feeling right now. The slightest possibility that Sam wouldn't recover from this was something they couldn't fathom, but it was a scenario that they had to prepare for. Even if this wall could keep out Sam's memories, there could come a time when it cracks and Sam's life would be on the line.

Natalie sighed and pulled the pack away, once again, and began to fumble with it. Most of the ice had melted and was now nothing but a dripping mess. "Dean?"

Dean kept his eyes glued on Sam, but hummed, showing that he had heard her.

"Are you all right?"

Dean remained quiet, mulling over Natalie's words. No, he wasn't all right. He was worried. Beyond worried actually and he knew there was no point in telling her. Dean knew that Natalie was just as worried as he was. There was no use in making her feel even worse.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean finally answered.

Natalie continued staring at Dean, knowing that his words were far from the truth. No matter how much she wanted to, Natalie decided not to push him.

"I'm...I'm gonna get some air." Natalie turned around and as quick as she could, climbed up the stairs, not giving Dean any other remark.

* * *

_"How is Sam doing?" _

Natalie sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "He still hasn't woken up. We actually don't know when he'll wake up. For all we know...his mind could be collapsing right now."

_"Nad, don't say that. You and Dean don't know what's going to happen. You just need to remain optimistic." _

"It's kind of hard to do that when everyone else seems to be against this whole thing. I mean, Cas was against it. Hell even Crowley and Death warned about it."

_"Everything they told you were just warnings. Did they once say that something definitely would happen to Sam." _

Natalie thought for a moment and bit down on her bottom lip. "Not really. It's just...Dean and I wanted to help Sam. That's all we wanted. And now, his sanity is on the line because of that."

_"Sam is gonna be fine Nad. He's been through a lot and he always seems to just bounce back from it." _

"Aunt Clara...that's doesn't really mean anything. The wall in his mind...it can still crack. It can break down and...who knows what that will do to him."

_"But, there is no guarantees that will happen. Nad, all you need to do is be there for him when he wakes up. After that, you all just need to take it one day at a time. Make sure that he's all right. That's all really you can do. But, you need to stop worrying so much. You have done enough of that." _

Natalie laid her arm on her knees then leaned forward, resting her forehead against her arm. "I know. How have you been? How's the search?"

_"We have managed to find some leads, but still haven't been able to get to Aaron. It's tiring Nad." _

"I'm sorry I can't be there to help. You should just take a break from it. Go back home, see Mari and Emily. I'm sure taking some time off will help."

_"Maybe I will. But, right now David, Jake and I are finishing up a few things. By the way, Mari was talking out going back to Massachusetts. Maybe rent a boat...go touring around the bay again." _

Natalie smiled, the memories of going on her Uncle's boat as a kid were starting to come back to her. "I would love to do that again. It's been a long time since we went back to Dennis."

_"Maybe soon we can make that trip. Get away from all of this." _

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

_"I'm gonna let you go Nad. Please try and get some rest. And try not to worry so much. Sam's gonna get through it. Love you." _

"Love you too." Natalie answered back then leaned away and ended the call.

Natalie pressed the top of her cell phone against her lips and let out a deep sigh. Sitting there on the front porch, Natalie felt a small chill run down her spine as the wind began to pick up. All she could think about was when Sam will wake up. She just wanted to see him back on his feet...she wanted to see the real Sam. For a whole year, she had grieved for him and haunted by the thought that she would never see him again. And then, to find out that he was alive, not only alive, but soulless, all of this wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

More than anything, she wanted to get back to where they both were before. They had virtually no time together before he jumped into the pit. Natalie wanted to have that chance with him, but as of now, Sam just needed to wake up. He needed to be monitored, make sure that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the wall's job.

Natalie gently licked at the sore split on her lip and stood up from the porch. Turning around, she walked back into the house and quietly closed the door. As she made her way towards the kitchen, Natalie slid her phone back into her pocket and headed right for the fridge. _I need a drink. _

_"What about Nad?" _

At the sound of her name, Natalie immediately stopped, recognizing the voice as Sam's. Looking into the living room, she saw Dean with Bobby and Sam and her mouth fell open.

Bobby saw Natalie standing in the kitchen and then motioned for Sam to turn around. Sam, at first, gave Bobby a confused look, but he turned around nonetheless and saw Natalie staring at him, though he was completely caught off guard by the condition of her face.

Natalie could feel nothing except for extreme relief. Just by the way he was looking at her, Natalie knew that it was Sam. And by the small look he had on his face when he saw her, she knew that he was surprised by the lacerations on her face. _I'm gonna need to come up with an explanation._

"Hey, Nad."

Natalie let out a shaky breath at him saying her name. It was so different now. Compared to how he had been talking to her the past few months. Every time he called her Nad, she could hear the emotionless in his voice and now that was not the case.

"Hey, Sam." Natalie barely managed to say, though it came out more as a choke than anything else.

Sam walked towards Natalie and she wanted to do the same but it felt like her feet were stuck to the floor. She couldn't move. His arms wrapped around her in a tight and secure hold. At first, she remained still, not able to comprehend that Sam was awake now and he no longer was soulless.

Recovering from her initial shock, Natalie slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a shaky breath. This was the first time since, before Sam jumped in the pit, that she was able to have genuine physical contact with him. Even when she went back on the road with him and Dean, she never touched him and he never touched her. Other than maybe an occasional nudge or him pulling her arm to go in a certain direction. None of it had any kind of emotion or attachment.

If there was one thing she missed about that, it was his hugs. As cliché as it may sound, that was the one thing Natalie loved most. The way that he would hold her, his arms securing around her, keeping her safe. Whether it was to provide some kind of comfort or reassurance, she had always felt like she could block out the world as long as Sam had her in his arms.

Natalie pressed her lips together, feeling the tears beginning to form in her eyes, she tried desperately to hold them back, but they spilled eventually. Closing her eyes, Natalie buried her face into Sam's shoulder, muffling the small sob that managed to slip out.

Sam's own hold on Natalie tightened at feeling her shake in his arms. "It's okay, Nad. I'm here."

Natalie's arms around his neck tightened, to the point that she was merely clutching onto him, and then nodded her head. "You're here." Natalie whispered against his shoulder, making it only audible to him.

Sam's lips twitched into a brief smile as he nestled his face into the side of her neck, giving her a few rubs on her back. "I'm here."

He had to admit, it felt really good just to see Natalie. The last image he had of Natalie was her leaning up against the Impala, hands desperately pressing against the wounds that Lucifer had inflicted on her. Seeing her, up on her feet and well, aside from the condition of her face, made him more relieved than he ever thought.

Natalie moved her face away from his shoulder and opened her eyes, seeing Bobby and Dean still staring at them. In all honesty, she had completely forgotten that they were still here and this only caused her to let out a wet laugh. She loosened her hold around him, which prompted him to do the same, and she pulled away, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Though now, Sam was able to get a good look at her face and he immediately cringed. He raised his hand and gently took hold of her chin. "What happened, Nad?"

Natalie, who had been silently relishing at his touch, blinked a couple of times. "It's...it's nothing."

Sam shook his head, not willing to let this go so easily. "That doesn't look like nothing. It looks really bad to me, what happened?"

Natalie looked past Sam at Dean, who was slowly shaking his head, begging her to not tell him anything. She didn't want Sam to know that he was responsible for this. Natalie knew the risks of him knowing anything that happened, but, there was still that small part of her that wanted to tell him.

Natalie cleared her throat and took hold of Sam's hand that was holding her chin. "It's really nothing, Sam. I was just being...stupid. That's all." Looking up, she could see that he was about to put up another argument. "You can't worry about me...we need to worry about you."

"Yeah, Nad's right Sam." Dean spoke up, hoping to keep Sam was questioning the matter of her lacerations any further. "Are you all right?"

Sam looked back at Dean, his hand grasping onto Natalie's. "Yeah...actually, I'm starving."

* * *

Natalie, Dean and Bobby all sit in silence, watching as Sam ate his sandwich. Not that it amused them, it was the fact that Sam literally didn't seem to remember anything. Nothing from his time of being soulless or the fact that he almost wasted Bobby not to long ago or that he was the one who caused Natalie's injuries. He had no clue.

"So, Sam..." Dean said, deciding to begin his little interrogation.

Sam looked up at him, chewing his food. "Yeah?"

"What was the last thing you remembered?"

Sam took a moment as the memories from what happened in the field began to come back. "Everything that happened in the field. And then I fell."

Dean gave a quick nod. "Okay, and?"

Sam shrugged lightly. "Then I woke up in the panic room." Sam finished, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"That's it?" Bobby asked in disbelief. "You really don't remember anything?"

"Well, let's be glad." Dean quickly intervened. "I mean who wants to remember all that hell."

Sam huffed out a laugh. "Well, how long was I gone?"

"About a year and a half." Dean answered.

Sam's face fell into immediate shock and bewilderment. "What? I was downstairs for-I don't remember anything. So, how'd I get back? Was it Cas?"

Dean pursed his lips. "Not exactly." He said, looking over at Natalie.

Sam moved his gaze onto Natalie, who looked up at him, and he could see that she had done something and it make him nervous. "Nad. What did you do?"

Natalie sighed heavily and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I was able to strike a deal with Death..."

"Death?!" Sam interrupted. "Death. The Horseman?"

"Sam, it's all right. Really. I had some leverage on him and he and I were able to work out a deal. Everything is fine."

Sam narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Are you sure?"

Natalie gave him a nod. "Yes. It's all been wiped."

"Yeah, for once, we don't own anybody anything." Dean added.

Bobby casually rolled his eyes. "Well, isn't this all neat and clean."

"Yes, it is. For once." Dean said, looking over at Bobby.

Sam watched the interaction for a second, seeing the looks on all of their faces made him a little curious. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Dean looked back at Sam and shook his head. "No."

Sam looked expectantly at Natalie who gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No. There's nothing."

"You want another beer?" Dean asked, motioning towards Sam's almost empty bottle.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

* * *

"Is Sam still asleep?" Dean asked Natalie, who threw her bag into the back of the Impala.

"Yeah. Last time I checked he was sound asleep." She answered turning to him.

"Yeah, just let him rest. We'll just call him later once we get there." Dean said.

"Call me from where?"

Dean, Bobby and Natalie look over to see Sam, with his bag hanging on his shoulder. "Oh. Uh, there's this thing in Oregon. We were gonna go and check it out." Dean answered.

Sam nodded. "Great, I'm in then."

"Sam, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean you did just get back up on your feet." Natalie said.

"Exactly. I'm good. I'm up and moving."

"Well, maybe a few more days of just laying low wouldn't hurt." Dean added.

"Right. Because that's what you did when you got back from hell." Sam lightly retorted.

Dean sighed and gave in. "Fine. The four of us."

"Actually, you three go ahead." Bobby said, before pulling his bag out of the car. "You three got this covered. I forgot that I promised Rufus I'd work the phones for him."

Natalie and Dean both gave Bobby a look. "You sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. You guys go on and enjoy catching up, okay?" Bobby gave them each a pat on the shoulders before walking back to the house.

Sam turned to look at Bobby and huffed. "What was that all about?"

"One part age, three parts liquor. Come on, let's get going."

* * *

"Okay, so, two girls disappear within a three week time span. One of them went, was in that plane crash and then the other didn't make it home." Sam said as the three of them got out of the Impala.

"Do the two girls know each other?" Dean asked as they began to make their way up to a house.

"No, There is no connection between them. Both of them were young, females."

"So, whose house are we visiting again?" Natalie asked.

"Uh. Penny Dessertines' house." Sam responded. "She has a sister, thinking we could probably talk with her, see what she knows."

The three of them quickly make their way up the porch steps and Dean quickly knocks on the door. Not long after, the door opened and they were met with a young woman. "Hi. You're uh...Penny Dessertine's sister, right?"

The woman nodded.

"Uh, we'd just like to ask you a few questions." Sam added.

"Look, the cops already came by. I'm tired. So, if you don't mind..."

"I understand. Really, I do. I know how hard this must be. We'd just like to figure out what happened. This will be quick. I promise." Dean and Natalie both share a look, thinking that they were glad to see Sam as his usual self again.

The woman finally relented and opened the door for them. "Fine. Come in."

"So, what exactly did you want to talk about?" The woman asked once she had closed the door behind them.

"Well, can you tell us what she was doing in that plane in the first place?" Sam asked.

The woman sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "I don't know why. Penny was nothing what you would call adventurous. Not at all."

"So like, flying in a two seated plane through a lightning storm, wasn't really her thing?" Dean asked.

The woman scoffed. "No. She hated that thing so much. But, she did it for Stan."

Natalie gave the woman a curious. "Who's Stan?"

"He was Penny's boyfriend. They were just starting to get really serious. And he was always talking about taking her up in that plane. And she didn't want to seem like she was...not interested. So she agreed to go with him. Have you managed to find anything yet?"

Sam gave her a sympathetic look but shook his head. "No, not yet. But, we will let you know if there are any further developments."

"Is that all you need to know for now? Like I said, I already spoke with the police."

"Uh, yeah, that will be all. Thank you for your time."

* * *

Sam and Natalie were sitting quietly at the table in their motel, both of them searching through various sources for any kind of connection or reasoning for why these girls would be taken. Sam look up at Natalie who was to engrossed in her research, but he couldn't stop looking at her bruised cheek and her busted lip. It bothered him that something or someone did that to her and he wasn't there to stop it.

Natalie could Sam's eyes on her and she casually looked over at him, seeing that his eyes were fixed on her and she knew why. "Sam, you know staring at my face is not going to make all of this go away." She said, gesturing at her cheek and lip.

"I just want to know what happened Nad. Why can't you just tell me that?"

Natalie sighed and gathered up the papers that were in front of her. "Because, it's not important Sam."

"No, it is important, because you got hurt. And I want to know who did it."

Natalie pursed her lips and sighed. _If only you knew. _Natalie ran a hand down her face and then reached over, taking Sam's hand into hers. "Sam, I promise, it's not important. I got into a little bit of a...situation...that's all. I was stupid. It's really no big deal. Don't worry about it, please."

Seeing the silent pleading in her eyes, Sam reluctantly nodded his head. He was willing to not mention it, for now at least. Mentally, he promised that he would find out what happened.

The door to the motel room opened and Dean walked in with food that he had gone out to get. "Hey. What did you two find?"

Natalie removed her hand from Sam's grasp and settled back against her chair. "Well, it looks like those other two missing girls both baked cookies for the lord." Sam answered.

Dean sat down at the table, with the food, and shrugged. "So what is that? A code?"

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "No. Church choir, their bake sales, promise ring clubs, pretty much the entire package. They were good girls basically."

"-But, Penny wasn't even a Christian." Sam added.

Dean nodded and shrugged off his jacket. "I have another theory." He said as he pulled out a diary. "Penny's diary."

Sam and Natalie both gave Dean a look. "Did you steal that from her room?" Sam asked.

Dean looked up at him and smiled. "I'm glad that you even asked me that."

"And why wouldn't I?" Sam asked, leaning back in his chair.

Dean shrugged off Sam's question. "No reason. So, the girl-nappings. What if it's not about religion, what if it's about purity?"

Sam thought on this for a moment. "What you mean you think they are..."

"Virgins, Sam, virgins."

"Penny was twenty-two." Sam said.

Dean gave him a shrug. "Yeah, so. With a pink room and stuffed teddy bears."

Sam nodded and gave a slight roll of his eyes. "But, you really think..."

Dean held up a finger for Sam to stop as he picked out a selection from Penny's diary. "I've decided I'm going to give Stan my most precious gift."

Natalie's brows shot up as she gave Dean an amused look. "Wow. that sounded really creepy coming out of your mouth." Sam answered, which caused Natalie to snort.

"I think I delivered it."

Natalie let out another laugh and rolled her eyes. "Okay, then. Now let's back track. If they were all virgins...what exactly would want anything to do with virgins?" Natalie asked.

Dean shook his head. "You got me Nad. But, I prefer ladies with experience."

Natalie closed her eyes. "That's a really nice image, Dean. Thanks."

* * *

**So, what did you all think? Don't forget to leave me a review! Xx**


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: So what did you all think of that premiere episode! I feel so conflicted about demon!dean. Like at first I was entertained but the minute he showed no kind of concern for Sam and that just broke my heart! But, I am so excited for what is to come for the rest of season 10!_

_Also on a related note, I finally created a blog for my stories. I'll put a link up on my profile for you all to go and check it out! Now onto the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural_

* * *

"So, what was the call you got from the police?" Natalie asked as her, Dean and Sam made their way up to the door of a hospital room.

"Report of a young woman getting attacked, but she managed to get away." Dean answered.

"Seems like it's lacking a few details. Guessing she hasn't really said anything for the reports yet." Natalie commented.

"Well, that's why we're here." Dean reached for the door handle and slowly opened it, peering his head in and then opened it all the way for Sam and Natalie to walk in.

"Excuse me, Melissa Carter?" Dean questioned only to have the woman giving him a small nod. Dean offered her a quick smile as the three of them pull out their badges. "We're here to ask you a few questions about the attack."

Melissa sighed and rested her head back against the pillow, though her eyes immediately went to Natalie and her brows furrowed. "What happened to your face?" She asked.

Natalie pursed her lips and cleared her throat, with a quick side glance she saw Sam giving her a faint expectant look. "Got into a little alteration. Not the important thing to worry about right now."

"We just need you to tell us what happened." Dean said.

Melissa took in a breath. "I was walking home, after having a study night with my friends. And as I was walking, I heard something and it came after me...and it just all happened so fast."

"It's okay Melissa. What exactly came at you? You can tell us." Sam said, hoping that the reassurance in his voice would ease her mind.

"It looked like a...like a giant bat. That's the best way for me to describe it." When she didn't receive a comment, Melissa looked over at them seeing the looks she was getting. "You think I'm making it up, right? That's exactly what I thought would happen."

"We never said that." Sam said.

"It came right at me. It was huge. I am telling the truth. That's how I got this." Melissa turned a little more onto her stomach to reveal the wounds on her back.

The three of them viewed the wounds silently and nodded their heads. "So, it attacked you. And then what happened." Sam asked, gently pressing the question on her.

"I don't know." Melissa said as she settled back into her bed. "I passed out, and when I woke up, it was gone."

"Is there anything else that you should tell us? Anything that might seem important...or even if it doesn't seem important." Natalie spoke up.

Melissa absentmindedly rubbed her finger. "Well, my ring got lost. Or else that thing stole it, if that makes any sense."

"What kind of ring?" Dean asked.

"Gold. It was my promise ring."

Dean nodded. "A promise ring. So, uh, a promise ring from a church? Like a purity ring?"

Melissa gave him a confused look and nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Dean bit down on his lip. "I got to ask. Uh, Melissa...just to let you know, nobody is judging anybody here, okay? Believe me. But...should you really be wearing that ring?"

"Dean." Natalie quietly warned.

Melissa looked from Natalie and then to Dean, her expression taking on a little bit of panic. "Well, I mean...I-I am..."

Dean narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Are you really?"

Melissa blinked a couple of times, swallowing down her nervousness. But, having all of them looking at her was making her even more paranoia. "Matt Barne didn't count!"

Natalie's eyes widened and her brows raised at Melissa's confession. "Well, then..."

Melissa took in a breath. "He didn't count..." She said, though it was more to herself then to them. "Is that all you need to know?"

Sam gave a quick nod. "Yes, uh, thank you."

The three of them quickly made their way out of the hospital with Sam shutting the door. As they made their way down the hallway, Natalie couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Well, that was really...interesting."

"At least we know one thing, she is not a virgin." Dean commented.

"Yeah about that, Dean I don't think that was something you just go right out and ask." Natalie answered.

"How else was I supposed to ask the question? It would have made it a lot more awkward if I had drawn it out longer."

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Feel bad for her though. That's not exactly a question an attack victim expects to hear from a Federal Agent."

"I didn't see you trying to through out any ideas." Dean accused lightly.

Natalie shook her head. "Okay, fine, Dean. So what do you guys think of her account?"

"I'm not sure. You think, Batman, tried to rape her?" Sam asked.

"Well, he does carry a lot of rage." Dean commented earning a light scoff from Natalie. "But, he rejected her because she was already dehymenated, huh?"

"You really think that?" Natalie asked as they walked through the front sliding doors.

"I think it just goes to show that being easy's pretty much all upside."

"Okay, so, if we put all of this together-what thing likes virgins and gold?" Sam asks.

Dean thought for a moment before a smirk finally appeared. "P-Diddy?"

Sam casted Dean a quick look. "You know, it's comforting."

"What is?" Dean asked as they walked over to the Impala.

"I died for a year, came back, and you're still not funny."

Dean's expression fell and he shrugged off Sam's words. "Shut up. I'm hilarious."

Natalie walked over to the driver side back door and let out a small laugh. "Yes, Dean, you're hilarious. I am laughing really hard right now."

Dean gave Natalie a look and then let out a mocked version of her laugh and nudge her in the back. "Get in the car, Nad."

Natalie smirked and laughed to herself. "Testy, testy."

* * *

Walking out of the bathroom, Natalie gently rubbed in the antiseptic cream on the split of her lip and looked over at Sam, who was sitting at the table with his laptop.

"You have got to be kidding me? This is not possible."

Natalie furrowed her brows at Sam's words and walked over to the table. "What?"

"Well, I googled 'fire', 'claws', 'flying', 'stealing virgins' and 'gold', and it all takes me to the same place."

"Where?" Dean asked.

"_World of Warcraft_ websites."

Natalie tilted her head to the side. "_World of Warcraft. _So, what...are you saying that we are dealing with dragons?"

"That's what it says." Sam said, reaching through the site again. "It's not possible."

"Actually, it might be." Dean added.

Sam looked over at him. "How?"

Dean shrugged and walked over and sat down at the table with them. "Maybe we should get a second opinion."

Natalie pulled out her phone and began to dial out a number. "I'll call Bobby. See what he thinks." She finished, putting the phone up to her ear.

_"Yeah?" _

"Hey, Bobby. Got a question for you. What do you know about dragons?" Natalie asked into the phone.

_"What? Nothing. Don't know nothing about dragons."_

Natalie let out a sigh. "Really, Bobby."

_"And I'm telling you I don't know anything. Their like the Loch Ness Monster, Nad. Dragons aren't real." _

"Well, we are in a situation right now that seems to only point to Dragons as the solution. Is there any way that you could make a few calls?"

_"Who am I gonna call? Hogwarts?" _

Natalie huffed out a laugh. "Come on, Bobby. We don't know anything about this, so really anything could help us out."

_"All right, fine. I'll call around, see if I can find anything." _

Natalie smiled. "Thanks Bobby."

_"How is memento doing over there. Has he caught onto any of your lies yet?" _

Natalie smiled slowly disappeared as her eyes looked up at Sam, who gave her an expectant look. "Uh. Everything is fine. We are all fine. The boys say hi. Gotta go." Natalie pulled the phone from her ear and tossed it onto the table.

Sam's brows raised at this. "You okay?"

Natalie looked up, seeing both Dean and Sam giving her a look. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

Sam nodded then got up from the table and walked over to his bag that was sitting on one of the beds. Searching through it, he finally pulled out his dad's journal and sat back down at the table.

"Dad never wrote anything about dragons. I promise. I'd remember if I read _The Neverending Story _in there." Dean commented.

Sam continued on searching through the pages but stopped and looked up at Natalie and Dean. "Hey. Did we hunt a shapeshifter lately?"

Natalie brows furrowed and shook her head. But, looking over at Dean, she could see the look on his face. This only told her that this must have been a job he and Sam were on _before _she knew that Sam was alive.

"No. Doesn't ring a bell. Why?" Dean finally answered.

Sam thought for a moment longer. "I don't know. Just...déjà vu or something. Are you sure though? I could have sworn-"

"You got to remember, your eggs are still a little scrambled, right? But, yeah, I'm sure." Dean said, hoping to assert the end of this little conversation.

"Yeah. All right. Never mind."

Natalie watched the interaction between them silently and then raised her brows for a brief moment. _That's something I should ask Dean about later. _Her phone on the table began to vibrate and she quickly picked it up. "Yeah, Bobby?"

_"Can't believe she didn't jump right to mind. Dr. Visyak. Medieval Studies, S.F.U." _

Natalie looked up at Dean, garnering his attention. "Dr. Visyak, S.F.U. Got it. Okay thanks Bobby." Natalie ended the call.

"Oh, Nad wait..." Sam stopped when Natalie looked at him. "I was gonna ask if Bobby tell you where they hold up."

Natalie made a face at her mistake. "Oh. Sorry. I can call him back-"

"No, it's fine. I'll just go take a look back into the lore."

"And in the meantime." Dean stood up and pulled on his jacket. "I'm gonna head out to San Francisco. Nad you wanna come?"

Natalie looked up at Dean, seeing him silently conveying a thought. _We can talk on the road. _Natalie slowly nodded her head. "Um, yeah sure. Unless..." She turned to look at Sam. "Did you need me to stay?"

"No. No it's fine. You and Dean go ahead and go. I'll stay here and read through some more lore."

"Okay. Meet me out in the car Nad." Dean said before heading out the motel door.

Natalie stood from the table and picked up her jacket from the bed. As she made her way over to the door, she stopped next to Sam, placing her hand on his shoulder which made him look up at her. "Are you gonna be all right?"

Sam creased his brows and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

Natalie gave a faint smile and nodded. "Okay." Before she could walk away, Sam took hold of her hand that was on his shoulder and gave her a few reassuring squeezes which she only answered with another smile.

Giving his shoulder one last squeeze, Natalie quickly slid on her jacket and walked out of the motel room door.

* * *

"So, I gotta ask." Natalie spoke up and looked over at Dean. "What was the whole hunt with the shapeshifter Sam was asking about?"

Dean's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "It wasn't long after I learned about Sam. Women were being killed and every single one of them had kids...babies practically, just a couple months old. Turns out the shapeshifter was sleeping with the women, getting them pregnant, then coming back to claim their prizes."

Natalie's eyes widened at the story and hummed. "And then killing the moms. Wow, that's a little...much."

"Yeah. Then me and Sam got stuck with one of the babies. Took care of it for a little bit."

Natalie let out an amused snort. "You and Sam. With a baby. In some ways, I can actually see that."

Dean smiled. "Well, this past year...Lisa's sister had a daughter so I kind of learned a few things."

Natalie settled more into her seat. "You and me both."

Dean's brows furrowed as he glanced quickly at Natalie. "What do you mean?"

Natalie closed her eyes and huffed. "Right. I never told you. Mari had a kid. A little girl."

Dean raised his brows and let out a loud hum. "How old is she?"

"Now...eight months. Can't believe I haven't told you about her. Guess with everything that was going on...it just didn't seem to cross my mind."

"Can't argue with that." Dean took another quick glance at Natalie. "How's the cheek and lip doing?"

Natalie absentmindedly licked at the healing split, regretting it immediately once she tasted the medicine that she had applied to it. "It's fine. I'll tell you one thing...I really don't like keeping all of this from Sam."

Dean sighed heavily. "I know Nad. But, we can't just come out and tell him. I mean you know what that could do to him."

"I know. It's just...every time he looks at me...I feel like he somehow knows what happened. I'm just afraid he's gonna find out we've been keeping things from him."

"We just got to make sure that he doesn't go poking around for information. Just gotta keep an eye on him, Nad."

Natalie nodded silently in agreement and looked up seeing that they were approaching the house. "I'm guessing that's it."

"Yep."

Dean slowly pulled the car into the driveway and parked near the stone steps that led up the porch. Getting out of the car, they both took the steps one at a time and upon reaching the door, Dean noticed a small button and clicked it.

_"Yes?" _A voice came through the small box.

Dean looked back at Natalie, who shrugged her shoulders, and then stepped closer to the intercom. "Yes, um, Dr. Visyak, my name is Dean Winchester and this is Natalie Collins."

_"Office hours are Monday and Friday." _

"Bobby Singer sent us." Dean said only to be met with silence and he raised his brows. "Hello?"

The door suddenly opened and Dean stumbled back as Dr. Visyak walked out onto the porch. She eyed them both, garnering two hesitant smiles from both Natalie and Dean. Dr. Visyak let out a sigh and stepped to the side, motioning for Natalie and Dean to enter, which they did, quickly.

Dr. Visyak followed them in and gently closed the door. "Bobby Singer, huh? Well tell him something for me the next time you see him."

"And that would be?" Dean asked.

"Actually, just kick him in the jewels. That's more poetic."

Natalie gave the woman a surprised look and pursed her lips. "I'm guessing something didn't go right between you two?"

"Well, that's a story that he needs to tell you both. He's the idiot. So, what's this about?"

"Well, uh...dragons, basically." Dean answered.

Dr. Visyak gave him an intrigued look. "Oh. Really?"

Dean gave her a skeptical look. "What? You aren't gonna throw some twelve-sided-dice joke at us?"

"We can joke about them because they've disappeared. But they aren't funny. At all."

"Wait, are you saying that dragons are-or-were real?" Natalie asked.

"As real as you and me."

"Well, one just flew in stateside." Dean said.

Dr. Visyak gave him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Fits the lore to a tee."

Dr. Visyak gave a quick shake of her head. "I don't get it. I mean, why? It's been seven hundred years."

"Banner crop of crazy all the way around these days." Dean commented.

"So, I'm guessing you two are here because you want to know how to kill it."

"That would be really nice to know." Natalie said.

"Well, in order to kill it, you need a blade. One forged I dragon's blood."

Dean gave a look and shrugged. "So you need one to kill one, but you got to kill one to make one. How does that work out?"

Dr. Visyak turned down to a hallway and motioned for Natalie and Dean to follow. "Well, there aren't many dragon swords around anymore. Five or six, tops, worldwide. I mean, there's the sword of St. George, and, of course, there's Excalibur. And there's-"

"You know a lot about this stuff, don't you?" Dean asked.

"Well, I sure as hell better. I have one in the basement. It took me two decades, countless hours, and some really bad sex with an eastern European ambassador, but, yeah."

Natalie smirked in amusement as they finally came upon a set of double doors. Dr. Visyak quickly opened them and Natalie and Dean saw a sword embedded in a boulder.

The three of them slowly enter the room, though Dean and Natalie's faces were adorned in immense skepticism.

"That's not real. Is that real?" Dean asked and looked over at Dr. Visyak who was nodding her head. "Is it Excalibur?"

"No. This is the Sword of Brunswick. Love of my life."

"So, uh..." Dean motioned at the boulder. "What's with the cement shoe?"

"You know, binding sword to stone used to be all the rage. To protect them."

"All right. Well, how do we get this puppy out?" Dean asked.

"Well, come on." Dr. Visyak let out a laugh. "You know this one. We need a brave knight who's willing to step up and kill the beast."

Dean briefly pouted his lips. "All right. Well, I'll, uh, give it a whirl. Do you mind?" Dr. Visyak seemed more than willing to allow Dean this opportunity.

Natalie folds her arms over her chest as she watches Dean stride over to the boulder. Resting his foot on top of the rock, he grabbed hold of the sword handle and pulled, but the sword didn't budge.

Natalie pursed her lips as Dean continued to try and pull the sword out, complimenting the task by situating his hands in different positions. He grasped the handle with both hands and pulled up in a quick motion but ended up fall down. Natalie let out a loud snort, ultimately raising a hand to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter.

Dr. Visyak, who had managed to hold back a laugh, scratched the back of her neck. "You okay?"

Dean stumbled to his feet and casted the two women a quick look. "Yeah. Never better,"

Dean plants both of his feet on the boulder, crouching in his position and grasped the handle with two hands again, trying to pull out the sword. At seeing Dean in this position, Natalie was trying her hardest to keep her laughs from coming out.

Dean gave one last struggling pull and then stumbled off the boulder. "Oh, son of a bitch that's really on there!"

"Yeah, afraid so." Dr. Viysak commented, after letting out her last laugh.

"Well, I have another idea. But, you aren't gonna like it." Dean said, looking over at Dr. Visyak.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked as Dean walked past her out of the room, though she and Natalie were quick to follow.

Dean walked back towards the basement with Natalie and Dr. Visyak following, though the latter was following at a quicker pace. Dr. Visyak quickly stepped in front of Dean, stopping him. "You know what? I don't like this at all. You do realize that this is the single most valuable artifact you have ever touched."

"It's also the only weapon we got. Look, I know what I'm doing, okay? I actually learned it all from Bobby. Whatever happened there, you know he's at least a genius at this." Dean saw the hesitation on her face. "Do you want me to kill that dragon or not?"

Dr. Visyak sighed and reluctantly stepped aside allowing Dean room to do his job. Dean walked up to the boulder and knelt down in front of it. "You rocks think you're so smart." He said, before pulling out the c4's and began to stick them on various parts of the rock.

Natalie watched Dean silently and then looked over at Dr. Visyak, who in all honesty, looked like she was going to have a heart attack. Natalie smiled faintly in sympathy for the woman, she did spend two decades looking for this thing and now here comes Dean, placing explosives on this boulder. She would be unnerved as well.

Dean finished sticking the c4's on the rock and picked up the detonator and began to lead the wiring line out of the room. "Welcome to the 21st century." Natalie and Dr. Visyak backed up out of the room, with Dean following with the detonator in hand.

Closing the door, Dean motioned for them to step back and flashed them a quick smile before pressing the button. A loud explosion ripped through the room, almost knocking the doors open. Dean looked back at Natalie, who raised her brows in response.

Placing the detonator on the ground, Dean opened the door to the basement to find that the boulder had been broken into various chunks, but the sword was still intact. Dean entered the room, a cheeky grin adorning his face as he made his way over to the destroyed boulder.

"Okay, now..." Dean took hold of the sword's handle and pulled it up and the sword did come out, but it had been broken in half. Dean's grin immediately went away as he turned to Natalie and Dr. Visyak.

Natalie held back a laugh that almost escaped and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She wasn't laughing at the fact that the sword was broken...it was the look on Dean's face.

"You've got insurance for this, right?" Dean asked sheepishly.

* * *

Sam tapped his finger against the table in singular rhythms, his mind mulling over his conversation with Castiel. He had told Sam everything, well almost everything, that had happened this past year and Sam was having a hard time even comprehending by some of the things he had heard. All that he had done to Dean, Bobby and Natalie.

Perhaps the one thing that keeps on bugging him is what he did to Natalie. This whole time he had been wondering what had happened to her, when in reality, he was just looking at the product of his own doing. For a small moment, Sam wondered how Natalie could even look at him right now, after what he did. If anything, she was hiding it fairly well.

The motel room door opened and Sam looked up, seeing Natalie and Dean walk in, though Natalie had a huge grin plastered on her face. "What's so funny?" Sam asked.

Natalie let out a laugh and took a quick glance back at Dean, who had just closed the door. "You missed what might have been the best thing ever."

"It was not the best thing ever, Nad." Dean scolded lightly as he walked over to the table.

"You didn't see it from my view." Natalie went and sat down at the other chair and saw Sam looking at her a little amused.

"And what exactly happened?" Sam asked.

"Well, we learned that the only way to kill a dragon is to gank it with a sword forged in dragon's blood. Luckily, Dr. Visyak had a sword we could use and it was stuck in a boulder. Dean tried to get it out and he couldn't. So he ended up blowing the damn thing."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was the only way we could get it out."

"And the c4 didn't exactly work the way you wanted it too." Natalie reminded.

Sam furrowed his brow and looked over at Dean. "Why? What happened?"

Dean sighed and pulled out the broken sword from his bag and placed it down on the table. Sam stared at the sword incredulously and gave Dean a look. "And what are we supposed to do with this, Dean? Give it a booster shot?"

"Shut up. It's what we got, all right?" We're just gonna have to get a little closer. That's all. So, what have you managed to find while we were gone?"

"Well, they dwell in caves. And they are nowhere around here. Though, sewers on the other hand...here, come on check this out."

The three of them stood up from the table and walked over to their map that was set up on the wall. "So, two of the disappearances happened within a mile of here. So I think we start there and work our way around."

Dean shrugged and nodded. "Okay, awesome. Who doesn't love sewers? Let's go then." Dean turned to leave when he saw the look on Sam's face. "You all right?"

Sam faintly shook his head and took in a breath. "Yeah. Uh, let's just go."

* * *

Natalie let out a disgusted cough as the three of them walked down one of the sewer halls. It must have been the third or fourth one they've been down and they haven't found anything.

"You know we've been down here for hours and I'm still not used to the smell." Natalie covered her nose and let out another cough.

"Seriously, though, we've been down here looking for hours and we haven't found anything." Dean gave Sam a quick glance. "Maybe the lore was off." As they came to the end of the tunnel, they came to a set of stairs and took them down one by one. "Hey, what if dragons like nice hotels?"

Sam sighed and scanned his flashlight over the area until he came upon something that was shinning from the light. "Hey, what's that?"

Natalie and Dean both turn to look where Sam was talking about and shined their flashlights down on the same spot, seeing what looked like a pile of gold. Dean walked over and knelt down next to the pile. "Holy crap." Dean picked up a gold watch from the pile. "Okay, maybe there are dragons here."

"Okay, so we found a pile of gold here." Natalie backed away from the pile and stood next to Sam. "That means, wherever they might be resting at, needs to be somewhere close."

Natalie looked down at Dean, who was beginning to stow away some of the gold. "Dean, seriously?"

Sam looked down into a small adjacent room and nudged Natalie in the arm. "Wait. Hey look at this."

Natalie and Sam walk off towards the room where they were approaching what looked like some kind of altar. On it, there was a leather-bound book and Natalie ran her hand over the cover and opened up the book a few pages.

"A little arts and crafty for a giant bat, don't you think?" Sam asked as Dean finally followed them and took a quick look at the book.

_"Hello? Is someone there?" _

The three of them turn to their right, upon hearing a voice calling out to them. They followed the voice up a small flight of stairs and found the girls under the sewer grates. Dean, Natalie and Sam knelt down near the grate and began to try and get the thing open.

"We're gonna get you out." Dean said.

"You have to hurry. He's coming back." One of the girls said.

Sam gets pulled back by one of the dragons and Natalie looked over at Dean, who quickly pulled out the sword. Natalie took this opportunity to try and get the girls out from the grates. She pulled out her lock picks and began to try and get the lock to open.

A pair of arms wrapped around Natalie and lifted her up, away from the grate. Natalie thrashed around, knowing very well that it was one of the dragons. She was able to plant her feet on the railing and pushed back, ramming her and the dragon into the wall. She brought her elbow backwards, hitting attacker in the ribs several times. Though the action didn't do anything for her. Instead, she swung her head back, feeling the back of her head making contact with his face, but that only made his grip around her tighten.

Natalie began to feel around in her back pocket and felt the outline of her knife. Pulling it out, Natalie flipped it open and brought it up, embedding it into one of his arms. His hold on her immediately loosened and she moved out of his hold. The dragon grabbed her on the shoulder and turned her back around, throwing a punch to her face, hitting the already bruised cheek. Natalie hissed in pain as the dragon secured his hands around her throat and swung her back around, pinning her against the wall. Her knife fell out of her hand and Natalie brought up her knee, kicking him in the lower abdomen and then threw a punch across his face.

The dragon stumbled back from Natalie's punch and once he recovered, went to go after her again, but, stopped and looked over at something. Natalie furrowed her brows and followed his gaze to see Sam stabbing one of the dragons. The two remaining dragons surveyed the scene and, in a moment of panic, both escaped through the sewers.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh and looked over at the brothers. "You two all right?"

Sam gave a quick nod. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." Natalie wiped the blood that was on her knife on the wall and closed the blade, sliding it back in her pocket. "Let's get the girls out of here."

* * *

Dean turns the dial a little bit more on the gold watch and looks over at Sam, who was coming towards him. "Hey, Sam. Ask me what time it is." Dean said with a grin.

Sam let out a laugh and shrugged. "Why don't you just cut to the chase and roll in it?"

"I rarely have wealth."

Sam smiled briefly at Dean's words and then his expression turned somber. Pulling out one of the spare chairs, Sam sat down across from Dean. "Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah?" Dean asked, continuously fiddling with the watch.

"I am so...so sorry. I can't even begin to say."

Dean stopped and looked over at Sam. "For what?"

Sam gave him a look. "You know what."

Dean literally had to think for a moment before he sighed in realization. "Did Bobby tell you?"

"Cas."

Dean nodded and tossed the watch down. "Cas. Freaking child."

"You should have told me Dean."

"You weren't supposed to know Sam."

"Really? Not even after what I did? To Bobby? To you? Hell, what I did to Nad? Of course I should know."

"Sam, Death didn't just shove your soul back in, okay? He put up the great wall of Sam between you and the things you don't remember. And trust me when I say that the things you don't know can kill you...that's not a joke."

"All right. But I have to set things right. Or what I can, anyway."

Dean shook his head. "It wasn't you Sam."

"You know, I kind of feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time and I woke up to find out that I had burnt the whole city down. And you can say it wasn't me, but...I'm the one with the zippo in my pocket, you know? So I'm not sure it's that cut and dry. And, I really do appreciate you...all of you trying to help me. But I got to fix...what I got to fix."

"But you don't know how dangerous that could be." Dean warned.

"What would you do?" Sam asked, seeing the hesitant look on Dean's face. "Right. Same thing."

Dean nodded silently, making sure to choose his next words carefully. "Cas told you that it was Nad who got you your soul back, right?"

Sam pursed his lips together and nodded. "Yeah, he did. Didn't tell me all of it."

"Now that's a story that Nad is gonna have to tell you for herself." Dean answered.

"Didn't think you would let Nad allow herself to go through with that." Sam commented.

"Well, what can I say? She knocked me out...literally. One good punch across the face and...I was out...couldn't stop her." Dean went quiet at remembering the event and faintly cringed at how it made him feel.

"But, Nad went through a lot trying to get your soul back. And if you're going to try and figure out all you did...just be careful. I don't want all of what she did to go down the drain. Have you even talked to her about it yet?"

"No. Not yet. But, I'm going to right now." Sam stood up from the chair and turned around, intent on finding Natalie.

"Hey Sam." Dean spoke up, causing Sam to turn to him. "Nad died, to get your soul back. And I was there. And there was a moment where she wasn't gonna make it...that's twice I've had to go through something like that and I'll tell you one thing I never want to see her like that again. So...just go easy on her. She did it for you and we _both _owe her for that."

* * *

Natalie closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh and gently rubbed her bruised cheek. The punch that the dragon had thrown at her just agitated the already injured area. This only made her to have to ice her cheek once again, much to her annoyance.

Sam walked up behind Natalie, who was leaning against one of the junk cars rubbing her cheek and Sam could feel his guilt eating away at him, "Hey, Nad?"

Natalie opened her eyes and turned to face Sam. "Yeah?"

Seeing the bruise on her face and the still healing cut on her lip, Sam gave a visible cringe. "There's, uh, something that I need to talk to you about."

Natalie slid her hands in her pocket and nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

Sam looked up at her, trying to think of how he should approach the conversation. Like Dean said, he needed to go easy on her. "I...I don't even know what to say Nad. I could say sorry, but honestly, I don't think that would be enough."

Natalie's brows furrowed in confusion as to where all of this was coming from. "Sam...what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about...all that I did."

Natalie for a moment was lost in her confusion, but her mind was able to put two and two together and she closed her eyes. "Who told you?"

"Cas did."

Natalie leaned away from the Impala and stood in front of him. "Sam...you weren't supposed to know anything."

"No. I deserved to know what I did...to all of you. I mean...I did that to you, Nad." Sam said, gesturing at her face.

Natalie shook her head, keeping her gaze off of him. "No, Sam. It wasn't you."

"You know everyone says that but that's not true. It may not have been all of me...but it was still me."

"No, it wasn't. Because _you _would never do anything to hurt me like that."

Sam scoffed at Natalie's words. "What else did he tell you?" Natalie asked cautiously.

"He told me that you died...to get my soul back. That you actually _died. _Nad, you let yourself go through something like that?" Sam asked, though his tone was starting to raise in volume.

Natalie shook her head, her eyes already beginning to fill with tears. "Don't get mad at me. Please, don't be mad at me." She tearfully pleaded. "I did what I had to do...for you. That was my goal. I just wanted to get your soul back. I just wanted you...to be you. And Dean was carrying to much of the weight on his shoulders, not letting me take on some of it. I just did it...I had to take one for the team."

Sam went and leaned against the car and ran a hand down his face.

"Sam, you couldn't continue on without your soul. I mean what you did to me and Bobby...at first I was skeptical about going through with the deal with Death, but after what happened, I'm glad I did. Because I couldn't deal with the possibility of you doing that to anyone else."

Natalie paused and wiped at her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. "I know that what I did was a stupid move, but...a whole year. A whole year I spent trying to get over what happened. Trying to move on. And then I find out that you're alive, but not only that, you were soulless. I just...I just wanted _you _back Sam. And when I saw an opportunity I took it. Please just...don't be angry with me."

Sam remained silent, not giving her one single look, as he continued to mull over her words. If anything he was grateful for two things. One, that she didn't stay dead when she went through with her plan and two, she got his soul back. Those were the positives that Sam had to hold onto. She was still here and now he had his soul.

Sam looked back up at Natalie, seeing that were eyes were still brimming with tears. He then held his hand out to her, though she only silently looked at it, hesitant on taking it. Natalie let out a sigh and finally took a hold of his hand. Sam guided her close to him and he then wrapped his arms around her waist and she secured her arms around his neck, then rested her forehead against his.

"I'm not mad at you. If anything I'm grateful. You got my soul back Nad...and you stuck around. I mean you could've easily just walked away from this..."

"I could never do that. I wasn't going to leave you or Dean in this alone." Natalie interrupted, tightened her hold on him.

"Thank you. I owe you. Just promise me...that you won't do something like that again. Dean had to go through that twice...and I don't want to know what it's like losing you like that. Okay?"

Natalie nodded her head and smiled faintly. "I promise."

Sam's arms tightened only slightly around her waist, pulling her closer to him, he gently pressed his lips against hers. Natalie settled more against him and had began to think about the last time she had kissed him. It was before he went to say yes to Lucifer. But through all of that, all that she had been through this year, this moment, somehow, almost made up for it.

Natalie finally pulled away and leaned her forehead back against his, savoring the silence that was surrounding them and just being here with him.

"Hey. love birds." Dean's voice suddenly cut through the silence and both Sam and Natalie slowly turned their heads to him. Dean gave them a small smirk. "Bobby needs to see us. Come on."

Natalie and Sam both gave Dean a silent stare and he only shook his head and walked towards the house. Natalie looked at Sam and let go of her hold on him. "Guess we should go."

* * *

Natalie, Sam and Dean walked into the living room where Bobby was currently sitting at his desk with the book that they had brought back from the sewers. "So, what did you manage to find?" Dean asked.

"Well, as far as I can figure, this dates back around the fourteenth century."

"What kind of language is it?" Sam asked, standing next to Natalie.

"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latinate. Gonna take me my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and, uh just so you know...this ain't paper."

Natalie tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"It's human skin." Sam, Natalie and Dean both stare with wide eyes at the book on the table. "I'm fairly clear on this first bit. It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of things hungry, sharp, and nasty."

"Monsters?" Sam asked.

"It's monsterland. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm think you three know it as Purgatory."

Dean raised his brows at this. "Purgatory? Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?"

"Oh, no, no. They're reading an instruction manual." Bobby answered.

Natalie gave Bobby a cautious look. "A manual. A manual for what?"

"This book gives you a way to access to Purgatory." Bobby said.

"Door to Purgatory. Well, I now a demon who would have loved to have known about that. So, how do you open the door?" Dean asked.

Bobby gave him a shrug. "Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got the page. But, it get's worse."

Natalie let out a quick laugh. "How could any of this possibly get worse Bobby?"

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in."

"Bring something here. What?" Sam pushed the subject even more.

"Well, I'm still working on that bit."

"Could you at least give us something?" Dean asked.

"I got a name. Mother."

Sam raised his brows, waiting for Bobby to go further but he didn't. " Mother? Mother of what? Mother of dragons?"

"I wish. It says it a few times here. Mother of all."

* * *

**So how did you all like it?! What did you think of the scene between Nad/Sam? I am so glad to be able to write scenes like that with them again! Also go and check out the tumblr for these stories (still working on it) the link is on my profile! Until next time! Xx**


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